Serenity
by Procrastination Fairy
Summary: In ancient Japan, Usagi's father is called to the war with the Dark Kingdom. Having failed her matchmaker's tests and fearing for her father's life, Usagi decides to take his place, but she didn't expect for four girls to join her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Usagi Tsukino. I was born to Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino. I was their only child—a daughter. I was a disappointment.

I was a disappointment because I was a daughter. My father needed a son to carry on his legacy. My parents loved me though. I wasn't treated like many other daughters without a brother. I was taught everything I needed to be. In some things I was proficient; in others I wasn't. Housework was one of the things I was not. My mother tried to cover it up. The matchmaker would have trouble finding a man who wouldn't mind a woman like that. He would need to be rich enough to hire someone to clean, one of the women who were unable to find a husband. Rich men do not marry country girls like me.

The matchmaker is a person you hear much about in this village. She chooses who marries who and if you go against her advice, it will reflect on your child's match. It would be difficult to do anyway. If you weren't matched with who you wanted, he or she might not want to be married to you.

Perhaps I rambling a bit too much. Naru says I tend to do that. I _have_ introduced myself sufficiently. I should move on.

It started one day when I was walking through the market with Naru. Naru Osaka was my best friend at home. Her mother was the matchmaker, which practically insured that I would have a good match. Naru would have a better one, of course. A man would like a matchmaker's daughter, especially if she was pretty, which Naru was. Her hair was one of the darkest I'd ever seen, but it had a red gloss. It was also curly. No one in our portion of the Golden Kingdom had curly hair besides her family that I knew of. There was wavy hair, like mine, but never curly. Naru had the same dark, near black eyes as anyone, but her face was so kind and pretty. Naru was perfect.

I'm not saying that I'm not pretty. I don't want to sound conceited, but I know I'm prettier than average. As I said before, my hair was wavy. It had neither a red nor blue shine, but gold. Gold like the kingdom. Do not misunderstand me—I had brown hair, only a few shades from black. But it shined like gold and I liked that. I stood out. Light hair is very rare around here. My eyes were the same color as Naru's and I liked them. My nose was different from most people's. It was sharper, but not un-pretty, I thought. I hated my chin. It had a dent in it. My lips were acceptable. They took pink all on their own. My eyebrows were the worst thing I could think of. They were thick and dark. I was lucky to hide them behind bangs. I hated my feet too. I understand feet are not the prettiest things in world, but mine were horrid. I'm going on and on about this. It doesn't really matter anyway. Naru says everybody scrutinizes their beauty too much to appreciate it.

Naru and I were talking about the men who had recently come to her mother's when I first saw him. It was a sunny day. The market was open, and there was someone from every family doing the shopping. I loved those days. It was so nice to just look around at stuff.

None of us noticed him at first. There was too much hustle and bustle to hear even the sound of fifty horses galloping our way, but slowly, the market quieted and turned to see who had come to our village. I was pretty far away from the group, but I could make out the figures of five men. The uniforms startled me. Four were general uniforms. One was a uniform that I had only seen in my imagination. It was a battle uniform, and it seemed dark, but there was something noble about it when you looked at it. Royal, almost. It took a few seconds for that to process. I finally understood why everyone was silent.

Prince Endymion was riding into our village. I stumbled in fear. Prince Endymion had no need to come to our village. We had nothing of importance.

"Perhaps he came to ask my mother!" Naru said excitedly. "Maybe he'll marry me!"

"Don't be silly, Naru. He's the prince. Besides, haven't you heard the rumors? He's supposed to be the reincarnated Prince Mamoru. You know, the one who ran off with the moon princess. . . . Wait, you haven't even gone through the process yet," I mumbled my confusion.

"My mother knows me inside and out. There's no reason for me to go through the process. You're silly, Usagi." Naru leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Isn't he handsome?"

Prince Endymion? Yes, he was. He had the black hair of our district (something we here loved. We liked to think royalty was connected to us) but the blue eyes of the European districts. He was startlingly handsome. I glanced back at Naru. But I had no time to think about that right now. Naru wouldn't be there? I needed her!

I blinked back tears. "Naru, I can't be alone. I'll be too scared. I won't know anyone."

"Yes, you will. All of the village girls." Naru looked like she thought I was insane.

"I don't really know them. I'll be alone." I was shaking. I had too many childhood memories. I wasn't teased at all. No—people loved me. The attention started to scare me. I never understood why but it gave me horrid nightmares of dying and swords and bleeding and screaming. I made a fool of myself. I had to hide then. My outgoing personality faded. I was the girl in the background.

"You'll be fine. It's time for you to make new friends," Naru decided. "Oh, look! He's talking."

We both looked up at our prince.

" . . . Considering that it is market day." I looked at Naru. She didn't know what the first part of the sentence had been either. "A male from each family will need to report. Pick this paper up as you leave."

I waited for a second. "Should I get it for my father?"

"I suppose so. Bye!" Naru skipped away. Her father had been dead for years. There were no other males in her family. She had no reason to stay.

I walked up. I noticed it was all men. The prince probably only wanted them. It didn't matter. I needed to get this for my father.

"My father is ill and resting at home," I muttered. "I will take the paper to him."

"He will be better soon?" the prince asked.

I nodded.

"Good."

Contrary to popular belief, my father was not a war hero. It was my mother's brothers, and, in fact, they were only soldiers. I had no real war background. My father was a simple worker. I turned to leave. Why were so many people looking at me? I tried to hurry away. I couldn't believe I embarrassed myself in front of the prince. This is probably the only time I'll ever meet him and he won't forget me. He'll think of me as a presumptuous woman.

"Girl."

Or that.

"Yes, your Highness?" I asked. I hoped I'd said that right.

"You _will_ take that to your father? You won't destroy it and claim you never had it?" Prince Endymion was questioningly me personally. How had I gotten into this mess?

"Th-that's illegal!" I stuttered.

The prince smiled. He thought my surprise was sufficient.

It shouldn't have been. He'd planted an idea in my head. My father wasn't actually ill. He was a fairly healthy man. He just wasn't there at the time. My father was old though. He married my mother when he was in his late thirties and had me on his fortieth birthday—June 30th. I loved sharing that with my father. Nothing could change the fact that Kenji Tsukino was too old to go to war.

Nothing else occurred to me at the time. I just walked home.

* * *

It was at dinner that I remembered the piece of paper in my pocket. I finished chewing the bite in my mouth and set down my utensils. I dug around until I found what I was looking for and snapped my head back up.

"While I was at the market today," I began, unfolding the paper and handing to my father, "Prince Endymion stopped by the market today. I was supposed to give this to you."

Father read it quickly. His face lost all color. I straightened up nervously.

"I must go to war," he said. Mother looked like she would faint.

"I thought we were winning!" I jumped up and exclaimed. I tried to recall everything he said. "He called a man from each family."

Father shook with fear. They called a man from each family. I think that I may have started to shake to. How could we be winning if they needed this amount of soldiers? And if we weren't winning, how could I be sure that my father would return? I pressed my lips together and stared down at my food. I excused myself quietly and ran up to my room.

I was scared to death for him. I had to figure out a way to save him.

* * *

If I were to be honest, I didn't have any time to think about things like that. The next few days, Mother was preparing to send me to the matchmaker. She tried to teach me to cook (failure), to clean (another failure), and many other things (all failures). The only thing I was remotely good at looking pretty.

"Ow!" I squeaked as another hair was plucked from my eyebrows.

"Don't worry, dear. It will be done soon," Mother said. It wasn't, but when it was, I was sure my face would be scarred pink from the pain. Mother gave me a mirror. The skin was pale up close, but hidden from far away, and unnoticeable when I left my bangs there. "You look so beautiful. The matchmaker will most certainly help you marry up."

I worried about marrying up. It meant that the man would have needed to marry down.

I was decorated traditionally and I looked in the mirror. Something felt off. I didn't want to go to the matchmaker. Mother opened the door to our house and we began to walk down the street.

"Can I do this next year? I can pass for younger," I begged my mother. She shook her head and pushed me into the crowd of girls. I tried to keep from crying the first few seconds, but a giddy feeling came into me the next. The other girls looked just as nervous. Plus, marrying seemed so nice. I could imagine being someone's wife.

I smiled.

A girl next to me saw that. She decided I was friendly and started talking. She was really pretty. Her hair was even curlier than Naru's, but it didn't make her seem quite ladylike. It bounced when she walked. She was tall, but friendly-looking. I liked her already. "Are you nervous? I am. I'm not sure I'll be able to get a good match. I'm Makoto Kino."

I had never heard of the Kino family, but our village was a larger one surrounded by many smaller ones. She must live there. "This matchmaker is really fair. If she thinks she can find you a good match, she will." Makoto seemed surprised that I knew so much. I hadn't felt so friendly in years, but Makoto was surprisingly easy to talk to. I beamed and explained, "Her daughter, Naru, is my friend."

"You're lucky!" Makoto burst out. She giggled at the looks she received and fell back in line. "This is Ami Mizuno. She's the daughter of the woman I work for. Her mother suggested I come here."

Ami was a tiny girl with large dark eyes and blue-black hair. Her clothes suggested her rank in society.

"Hello. I'm Usagi Tsukino," I said.

Ami nodded without a hint of smile. We entered the matchmaking room. I smiled at Naru's mother. She pointed over to a table in a corner. I saw Naru and two other girls. I frowned. The tables only held four people.

"I'm sorry, Makoto, Ami; I see Naru. I'm going to sit with her." I really felt bad for leaving the girls, but I needed Naru to hide behind and they would find a place to sit. I could talk to them later too.

"Alright. Bye, Usagi!" Makoto called with a grin.

I hurried to the empty seat and smiled. "I thought you said you wouldn't be here."

Naru shrugged. "Mother said it was tradition. Sit down, Usa. Usagi, this is Rei Hino and Minako Aino. This is Usagi Tsukino." She gestured back at me. I stared at Minako and Rei. Hino was the name of one of king's advisors. Aino was the richest family around. I looked at Naru. Of course. They needed good matches. But couldn't the Ainos afford to send Minako to the city? Why was Rei in the country? Minako and Rei both had long black hair. Both looked like city girls. In fact, their eyes bordered on light-colored. I was jealous.

"It's nice to meet you," I said. Naru was surprised at how bubbly I was being.

Minako grinned back. "Yes! I'm so excited! I can't wait to find out who my husband will be!"

Rei simply nodded.

Naru whispered, "There are really only three tests. The first test will be individual; then, Mother will put us in groups and watch us."

"Do you know what the tests will be like?" Minako whispered.

Naru said no. I sat awkwardly through their conversation. Gradually, girls disappeared from the room and returned. Minako, then Rei, left. Naru complained that her mother was waiting to work with her last. I just smiled.

"Usagi Tsukino," Naru's mother called. I stood up gently and walked over to her. Mrs. Osaka led me into a little room and gave me a chair. She took a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"How are you, Usagi?"

I smiled shyly. "Good."

"Alright. This interview is really a formality, but do you have any preference on the man I will choose?" Mrs. Osaka waited as I debated what I wanted my husband to be like. It honestly wasn't a hard decision.

"If . . . if you can find him, I would like someone who is kind and serious. Mostly kind though," I added in a hurry.

Naru's mother looked at her list. "I'll see what I can do."

She sent me back out into the group room and called a name I didn't recognize.

Minako waved me over as I exited. "How do you think you did, Usagi? That was a pretty easy test. I'm glad we get a little bit of choosing because I would hate it if I got a husband that liked me, but I didn't really like him. It wouldn't be a good situation for any of us. I just hope Naru's mother can find someone I'll like."

I'd lost her point. "Oh, yes." I looked at where we were. They had moved to a table to eat lunch. This was a larger table. I started to smile as I sat down. Ami and Makoto could sit here now. Both Minako and Rei stopped me from calling them over, each placing a hand on top of mine. With that action, it struck me as odd that these two girls looked so similar, with long, pin-straight black hair—although Minako's shined gold and Rei's was pure black—and similar eyes, but their personalities could be so different.

In the second test, we were handed a piece of paper and instructed to write a letter to the man we would marry introducing ourselves.

"It's most likely to judge our handwriting," Naru said, hardly looking up from her paper. I looked sadly at my own scribbles. Her elegant calligraphy made mine worthless. I sighed and continued. "I've also seen my mother show these to men because she says the tone of your writing tells a lot about yourself."

I could only hope a man would overlook my shortcomings in writing.

"How should sign it?" Minako wondered aloud. "I don't want to sound presumptuous with 'love', but 'your friend' is not exactly something you want to hear from your future wife."

"Respectfully," I answered with looking up. I had just finished my letter and was printing my own closing. I signed my name. Even my signature was kind of ugly. I sighed and folded it up.

Once everyone had handed their letters in, Mrs. Osaka sent us in groups of four. A village girl whose name slipped my mind, a girl I didn't know, and Ami were in my group. The matchmaker then revealed that our test would be the tea ceremony.

"Oh my gosh," I muttered and bit my tongue. I could hardly remember the steps. Naru's mother set a table for the four of us and left everything we needed while she sat a couple feet away and watched.

I wasn't really paying attention. I'd managed to pass the first tests, but the group test was the hardest. The buzz of making friends so quickly had worn off and I felt like my normal shy self. I watched the other girls in my group pour tea gracefully and flushed. I have never been able to pour a drink without spilling a drop.

"You'll do alright."

I turned to the voice. I was surprised to see little Ami, who hadn't deemed to say a word to me the whole day. She gave a shy smile as she passed the teapot. I didn't know she'd even taken her turn yet. I accepted it with a smile and tried to pour. The handle was wet—just wet enough that it was sticky, but also slippery. It fell from my hands and shattered on the table. I had no other thing to do than run.

Mrs. Osaka jumped up and followed me. She caught me right at the door. "Usagi," she said, "I'm really sorry. I wish I could do better for you. I can't cover up that test though. Too many people know about it. I'll try to find you a match."

I choked back a sob. A match. Not a good match. Just a match. I watched as tears ran down my kimono.

I would never get a good husband.

**First and foremost, I am worried that I will be getting complaints about the way everyone looks. I was inspired from watching Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon since they looked like your everyday Japanese students. I decided to work with that, except give some leniency to browns and reds and curliness to make them look a little more like their normal selves.**

**This is going to be very short, ten to twelve chapters max unless it's very well-received. This is more of a second project, so I've put it to the back burner for Queen of Fifteen, which is over half-finished; although at this time, I'm going to put that on hold for another month. I'm extremely busy and extremely frustrated with it. I'm posting this chapter to let you get a taste.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was a disgrace, and I knew it. There was nothing else on my mind at the time. I wouldn't get a good husband—if kind, poor, and if rich, cruel—and that made me worry about my mother. After all, it was completely common knowledge in my village that my father would not survive the war. I had no idea what to do.

"I wouldn't have this problem if I was a boy!" I jeered at myself.

Then it hit me. If I was a boy, I could go to war in place of my father. My mother would still be taken care of. I wouldn't have to worry about getting married. If I was a boy . . . or if everyone _thought_ I was a boy . . . . That's when I knew that I was going to run away.

I rose from my spot on the floor and searched my room for old sashes. I tied my sashes tightly around my chest. It was painful at first, but slowly it went numb. I knew I couldn't tie it any tighter, so I looked as flat-chested as I could possibly be. In my dresser, I had some old tunics and a few pair of pants that my cousin used when he visited as he frequently forgot to pack. I tried the clothes on and looked in my mirror. The clothes were a little too large, but that was best for what I was trying to hide. Other than my hair, I could almost pass for a very feminine boy.

"Usagi! Come down for dinner!" Mother called. I hurriedly changed back into my kimono. I stuffed my cousin's clothes away. I could not let anyone discover my plan.

* * *

After I ate, I went back up to my room. I laid down and tried to sleep. I drifted off a couple of times, but I never got any deep sleep. I'd hoped that I could; I needed the energy for my journey, and it would pass the time. I ended up just lying in bed for my remaining hours at home.

Once I was certain my parents had gone to sleep, I changed back into my "boy" disguise, snuck into the main room, and took the armor my father bought. I was a bit short for it, but my father wasn't terribly taller than me, so it didn't make much of a difference. I then took the sword from its sheath and cut off my hair.

That was hard. I liked my hair very much. It was very long and very hard to manage, but I'd always thought it was worth it. At this moment, I didn't care. I'd thought long and hard about this. I was no longer Usagi Tsukino.

"Time to go," I whispered to myself and shut our front door. I reread the directions and headed off.

* * *

I arrived at the send-off station in between batches. The next one wouldn't be for a few days, and I had, unfortunately, arrived very early in the morning, just as the sun rose. The trek there was tiring, and I had to gingerly hold myself up as I spoke to the man behind the counter.

I looked around nervously. "I really can't wait. I need to leave as fast as possible."

"I suppose that's a good thing. We have a group of young ladies chosen by the generals, and the generals want to meet their brides before the war, and with brides like these, you don't exactly want to leave them to the disposal of a few hundred young men. You will be assigned to their camp to train, and your first job is to take these young ladies to the camp," the station man said.

The four women revealed themselves. It seemed a little coincidental—Ami, Makoto, Rei, and Minako. I smiled.

"Go on," the man said. He handed me the supplies I would need for the journey—three tents for two people each, plenty of water and food, among other things—and shooed me away.

I put the items into my bag. It weighed my shoulders down considerably, but I didn't complain. I needed to become stronger if I was to be a soldier. The four girls followed behind me slowly. None of them seemed inclined to talk to me. That was fine. I wasn't sure exactly how I would pull this off yet. As far as they knew, I was an anonymous soldier.

We had marched half a day and still no one had spoken a word, not even to each other. Finally, Minako spoke up.

"May we stop for lunch?" she asked. Makoto removed her arms for her stomach and I realized she'd been implying her hunger for a few miles now. Ami and Rei seemed to agree. I nodded and divided the rations evenly. I handed everyone their share of food and water before beginning to eat.

Ami stared as I took a bite. "Sir," she said finally in a tiny voice, "you're the soldier. You should develop your strength." She tried to hand me a little of her food, but I pushed it back towards her. I wasn't feeling up to eating much food.

"I'll be fine," I mumbled.

Rei froze in the midst of breaking her piece of bread in half. She tilted her head and tried to study my face. I lowered it. "Sir, what is your name?"

I bit my lip and said, "Ren Tsukino."

"Are you Usagi's brother?" Minako asked cheerfully.

"You know my sister?" I questioned as loudly as I could without revealing my voice.

"Yes!" Minako proceeded to relate a long story about my time at the matchmaker. I pretended to listen, but it wasn't something I wished to remember.

Makoto set down her water and shook her head. Finally, she stood up, looking down on me. I rose and stared back at her. I'd forgotten that she was so much taller than me. It didn't help my disguise at all. I wait for her to say something, but she finally just rolled her eyes and took her seat again.

We finished eating. I hadn't realized we'd taken such a late meal. The sun was setting once I'd put the remains away.

"I'll set up the tents," I muttered. I'd thought it would be easy, but the moon was high in the sky by the time I finished.

As Rei entered the tent she shared with Minako, she said, "You aren't much of a soldier."

Didn't I know it?

I stumbled into my tent. Collapsing on my blankets, I shut the doors and pulled the sashes from my chest. That was so much more comfortable. I curled up in the blankets as I whispered good night to myself. I shut my eyes. Tomorrow, we would need to move faster to get there on time. I finally drifted to sleep.

* * *

We walked even farther the next few days. Slowly, the girls began to open up to each other. I didn't understand it, but they built a bond very quickly. I wished to be a part of that, but it wasn't my place now. I wasn't Usagi anymore. I had a duty, and I couldn't sacrifice it for anything.

It was about three days into the trip when Ami spoke up again. "Sir, perhaps we can stop . . . and . . . bathe . . . ." She flushed. I wondered why, then remembered that she believed I was a man. Of course she would blush. I would if I was in Ami's position.

I decided to say something I thought a man. "You can't wait any longer?"

I hoped she would say no. My hair was icky and sweaty and all around gross. Even under disguise, I wanted to be clean.

"Well, I suppose," Ami muttered. She was always eager to please. Masking my face, I groaned inside my head. I wanted to be clean too!

"I can't!" announced Makoto. I was so relieved.

"When we arrive at a stream, you will take turns and guard each other," I ordered.

"Why?" asked Minako.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I would presume you wouldn't want me to."

Her face made the area heat a few degrees. They agreed on an order. We came to a large river a couple of miles away. I waited and set up camp as the girls each took their sweet time. Maybe that was hypocritical; I would take quite a bit of time to, although not as much. I still had to appear to be Ren. I couldn't take as much time as Usagi.

I wanted to cheer when Rei, the last one, returned, water dripping down her arms and plastering her hair to her clothes. She pushed a bit of her bangs to the side so she could see me as she nodded for me to go ahead.

I sunk into the water nervously. I was worried that one of them would come over and discover me. Of course, that was silly. No proper lady would willingly go near a naked (unbeknownst to them, wo)man unless it was an emergency. I hoped there wouldn't be one.

Washing my hair took much less time than I was used to. I climbed out nervously, covering my chest with my arms. I hurriedly tied them back up and pulled myself into my male clothes.

When I rejoined them at camp, everyone was asleep. I slipped into my tent and did the same.

* * *

As I packed up the camp the next morning, I realized how much work the soldiers actually put in. I almost felt bad for remarking to a few of a my cousins that they should try living in their mothers' shoes for a day. I could hardly left a large portion of our items and even once in a bag, it weighed me down. I also couldn't complain to my traveling companions. It would go completely against propriety and give questions to my identity. I had looked a few times myself and I knew that if anyone took too close a look, they would see a woman.

When I finally finished, all four girls had gathered up their belongings and were sitting neatly, ready to travel. I gestured for them to stand when I noticed a mark on Ami's face. It was by her ear and out of sight so long as she didn't push her hair out of the way, but it was a long and deep cut.

"What happened?" I wondered.

Ami looked down.

Makoto said, "There was something here from the Dark Kingdom. It attacked us, but we beat it and it decided that there wasn't anything of value here."

I stood tall. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You've done enough for us, sir. We didn't want to bother you," gave Ami as a lame excuse. Rei seemed to be too preoccupied to answer. Minako stared off into her own world, happily as always.

The knowing smile she gave me as we walked away was unnerving.

* * *

Travel continued in a typical pattern. We walked; we ate; we slept, and when needed, we bathed. I had become rather careless and it wasn't until one morning where I woke up to a small shriek that I remembered the death penalty. I sat up quickly. The cotton blanket been kicked to my feet while I slept. I looked up. Makoto's shell-shocked face greeted me.

"Makoto," I called.

The girl slowly returned to normal. She quickly turned and left the tent. I reached for my sashes, tying my breasts up as fast as I could. I untangled myself from the blanket and peeked my head out. Makoto saw me leave and shook her head. She walked back over to where I now stood outside the tent. After staring at me for a moment, she seemed to recover from the shock. I prepared myself for the revealing. Surely, my secret would be blown now. As soon as I arrived at camp, Makoto and the other girls would order the soldiers to kill me on sight.

Makoto stared at me for a moment. No one else seemed to notice what was going on. She studied my face and suddenly seemed to understand. She smiled in the way you did to wild animals to assure them that you wouldn't hurt them.

"Usagi, you need to work on your voice. You still sound like yourself," she told me. "You need to speak lower. You'll be killed on the spot if you arrive like this."

Ami, who had been taking a drink, let the water run down her mouth as she spluttered in shock. She wiped it away with her sleeve. Rei looked slightly surprised, but Minako waved as if she'd known the entire time.

"Usagi?" Ami squeaked.

"You won't tell, will you?" I begged. "My father _can't_ go to war. Please!"

None of them answered. They exchanged looks. Finally, Rei spoke up. "Usagi, we can't let you do this."

"Why not?" I whined.

"You can't be killed," said Minako with a surprising amount of force. Something behind her eyes was glowing. It wasn't fury; it wasn't protectiveness. It wasn't even emotion, I believe. It was just something glowing bright. "I will in no way let you endanger yourself like that." A little smile graced her face and Minako appeared to be the same airhead as always. "Well, at least, not without me. How do you think Masashi Aino sounds?"

I looked at her. She waited for an answer from any of us. "Don't you already have someone going for your family?"

She shook her head rapidly back and forth.

"Well," Minako began on a second thought, "if someone comes to question my father, he will either pay them or send a distant relative in his stead. If I go, I don't think he will notice a difference." Ami, Rei, and Makoto seemed to get an idea.

"Neither do we," Ami added referring to herself and Makoto.

Rei was an only daughter. Each of them took my sword before I had a chance to protest and chopped off their own hair. Minako and Rei mourned the loss, but I had to admit, the way their hair hung blandly across their head made them look very masculine . . . for a girl disguised a man that is. Ami hardly seemed to care as she got rid of it all. Her hair curled slightly under. I was surprised to find that she still seemed very feminine with short hair. We all decided that we'd find a way to cover that later. Makoto's hair was even curlier once cut.

Perhaps it should have occurred to me as strange that five girls, who all happen to be the only child in their family, would end up together, but it didn't. Instead, all four of them borrowed a few sets of my (cousin's) clothes, while we managed to find some extra sashes, until we reached the next town, where we purchased enough for all of us, along with a set of armor for each of them. Makoto was the one who noticed that. I suppose it would have been silly to show up at a training camp without it. Ami made them all each purchase a sword.

"Just in case," she noted with a slow, calculating glance of her eyes.

We thought about names as we talked around the fire that night. In a way, I was very happy. I could finally join in on these conversations.

"Rei is a unisex name," mentioned the girl who bore said name.

Minako groaned. "Two members of a family with the name Rei? I highly doubt anyone would do that. I am sure that your fiancé would know your name anyway."

"Keitaro, then."

Ami chose to be Chikao.

"I want to be Mako," the curly-haired girl stated loudly. Glares abounded. She huffed. "I suppose Itsuki will do."

Ren Tsukino, Masashi Aino, Keitaro Hino, Chikao Mizuno, and Itsuki Kino, I mused. The names were alright. They were what we would become for the next few months.

"This way, we will be able to meet our fiancés," stated Ami. "If we don't like them, perhaps we can just disappear. Make it seem like the Dark Kingdom killed us."

"Surely they won't be bad people," Makoto remarked. "Mrs. Osaka is supposed to be a good matchmaker anyway. Aren't they supposed to be suited to us?"

"My father wasn't," she murmured.

The area was awkwardly silent for a moment. Finally, Minako cheerily asked, "Who are your fiancés anyway? If I recall correctly, I am supposed to be engaged to a General Kunzite."

"General Jadeite," Rei said calmly.

"General Zoisite."

"Nephrite." Everyone glanced at Makoto. She shrugged. "If I will marry him, I see no reason to address him with a title."

To work on a light note, we came up with the story that while we were on our way to deliver the four ladies, we were captured by the Dark Kingdom. It was at the river when we had taken baths when the real battle occurred. Only two of us were at the camp with the women at the time. As we had not been trained, we had no way to fight them and barely escaped ourselves. The other three joined us a little too late. The girls were captured. Masashi was a distant relative of Minako. Keitaro would be the same for Rei. Chikao was Ami's younger brother, and Itsuki was Makoto's twin.

I was thankful that none of them asked me. I smiled. Perhaps this masquerade would be fun.

**I have a lot planned for this story. I'm very excited, and I hope you all like it, even though I probably don't update as often as you'd like.**

**I meant to mention last chapter that this _is_ based off of Mulan. I had been watching the Disney movie and this came to me.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"There's the camp," I said. Ami glanced up at it and shied back. Makoto ran forward a bit to get a better look. Neither of the other two seemed eager to go any higher on the hill.

I stepped back and ran a hand through my now short hair. It had little waves in it. I played with the strands as I waited for one of them to step forward and say something. Minako glanced back at me. As I had seen her do before in the past week or so I'd known her, she suddenly dropped the giggly persona and became commanding.

"We all need to get moving. I don't know when we are supposed to—or were, if the case may be—arrive, but there's no use putting it off. Are you all ready?" she asked. We lined up awkwardly behind her. Ami and I hung back while Rei trailed closely behind Minako. Makoto jogged back down and walked in between our duo of duos.

As we walked toward the start of camp, we met up with two other soldiers.

"Hi," one said as he approached us. "I'm Motoki Furuhata. This is Gurio Umino. Who are you?"

I noticed that he was addressing me. Subtly, I glanced back. Somehow, all of the girls had moved stand behind me. I looked helplessly at Minako. She sighed and stepped up again, switching to the voice she had practiced alongside the rest of us.

"I'm Masashi Aino. This is Ren Tsukino, Chikao Mizuno, Keitaro Hino, and Itsuki Kino."

Motoki stared at us for a moment. He cracked a smile. "Your names all end in 'no'."

I scrunched my nose. They did. I've never been quite sure if destiny existed or not, but I had to wonder if there was a reason all five of us met. It would make some sense of a coincidence. I laughed at myself. I was being silly. I looked back at Motoki. He pointed up the hill to a large bustling crowd. I could see heads turn to look down the hill. Figures moved back in forth. Something about the situation seemed very tense and worried. I squinted to see better. I could see some lighter colors . . . on heads. Suddenly I stiffened. There were men with light hair here. The men with light hair were most likely the generals. We had to face them now.

I looked and saw that my companions had realized the same thing. I nodded for Motoki to continue.

"They're waiting for some women to appear. Apparently, they were supposed to arrive days ago. They're worried that the Dark Kingdom captured them."

Rei said, "They did."

Motoki and Gurio stared at us.

"We were supposed to guard them on the way," Ami explained. "Ami . . . is my older sister. Minako is a relative of Masashi, same for Rei and Keitaro."

"Makoto is my twin," Makoto added.

The two men looked at me. I sniffed when I grasped that they were wondering about me.

I said, "I was just there. My sister is safe at home."

Motoki stood still as our words sunk in. He took off running up the hill. He waved to the rest of us and we followed. He ran all the way to the crowd where he slowed down so we could keep up with him. I grabbed Ami's hand and Makoto's shirt so I didn't get lost. When I noticed some of the men staring at me, I let go. I hadn't realized that it would be so hard to act like a man. Honestly, holding hands is a good way to stick together. We navigated our way up to the large golden platform were the generals were. Once we stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at them, I noticed someone very important: Prince Endymion.

I suppose I should have realized that he would be there. He's always supposed to be near his generals. They are partners. As I was saying, Motoki tried to get attention, but it seemed futile at first. So many people were talking, and a few of them appeared to be paying no attention. The ones who were looked frustrated and exhausted. They had to have had headaches.

Finally, Prince Endymion glanced our way. "Do you have something important to say?" he asked.

Motoki replied, "The ladies were traveling with these men."

Abruptly, the whole camp silenced. The four generals arranged themselves around the prince. We didn't dare to make a move or speak a word, and they stared silently at us.

After a long silence, the silver-haired one stepped forward and demanded, "Where are they?"

Prince Endymion motioned for him to be silent. "What are your names?"

We introduced ourselves. He nodded and ordered someone to mark that down.

"What happened?" he wondered calmly. His gaze stayed on me. Although I was unaware at the time, this was because I was the only one who didn't have connections with the supposedly missing girls and thus would be the least emotional. That is, if that story was true. As it was at the time, I was terrified that he recognized me. He had already spoken to me personally once. I had to calm myself down. If "Usagi" is supposed to be my older sister, then we should look alike. And when "she" said that she would take it to our father, she thought I was too young to go. This was all worked out in my head. If the prince asked me anything, I knew what to say.

Of course, having yet another person look at me for answers, I quickly stepped back and pushed Minako forward. She glanced back at me and sighed as if she were disappointed in me.

She said, "We were escorting the young ladies when we stopped by the river." She paused. Minako had forgotten what our names were. "Chikao, Keitaro, and Ren were refilling our water bottles when the Dark Kingdom attacked by our campsite. Itsuki and I couldn't fight them. They couldn't get back in time. Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto were taken."

The generals all appeared to be very infuriated, but the prince hardly reacted. He ordered for them to leave so they would calm down.

"I had presumed as much. I assume it took you this long because of injuries," Prince Endymion said once they'd disappeared. He didn't wait for us to answer. "I highly suspect that they will be very angry at you. I am not. You have no training and the Dark Kingdom can best any outnumbered group. I suggest that you are on your best behavior though."

"Yes, sir." Minako bowed and stepped back. The rest of us cautiously tried to follow.

"You!"

I froze, turned around, and addressed my prince.

Prince Endymion watched me for a moment. "Stop letting people speak for you. When someone addresses you, it is your duty to reply. We can't have weak soldiers."

I lowered my head.

"Speak!"

I squeaked, "Yes, sir!" and ran off.

* * *

Later that night, when we all crashed inside our tent after a long day of set up (The generals took our two person tents because they would be useful for scouting missions. We now shared one big one, all together, thankfully), I looked at the other girl and said, "When I was speaking to the prince earlier . . . I didn't sound like, well, _Usagi_, did I?"

"Maybe," answered Ami noncommittally.

Rei, who was lying down and not making a noise, said, "We have to be very careful now. If they find out one of us is a girl, they'll check us all. We have to—"

"Why would they check us all?" Makoto asked.

"Because . . . . Say they found me. Rei Hino is missing. Keitaro is actually a girl. Is it possible that Keitaro is Rei? If so, what about the others?" Rei explained. Makoto and Minako stared blankly as Ami fell onto her blankets in exhaustion. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. We just have to watch out for each other."

I nodded and curled up. I was exhausted. To lull myself to sleep, I thought of a child's tale: the tale of Serenity and Mamoru. It had always been my favorite because of how romantic it was. And it was _true_. The story flew through my head like always. Serenity's face, the perfect pretty princess one, framed by her blonde hair, cried at Mamoru's death. This time, though, remembering Naru's words back home, Mamoru's face was Endymion's. Suddenly the story seemed even more realistic and I could feel the cold whipping at my arms as I reached for my fallen friends.

I fell asleep.

* * *

"For Elysium's sake, U— Ren, wake up!"

I turned over and tried not to wake up. It was too late. I opened my eyes, the bright morning sunlight blinding me. A shadow moved over my line of vision and I sighed. The form was feminine . . . no, masculine. I tried to open my eyes, but it was too bright. I heard a huff and felt a shove on my arm.

"We need to get going," snapped Rei. I hurriedly got dressed and followed her out the tent, nervously realizing that we were the last to fall in line. I tried to look and see what was in the front. When voices began to speak, I knew it was the generals.

The first voice was gruff and solemn. I didn't know which general it was. "We have already split you into teams. Those who share a tent with you are your partners. You will learn to work with them because the entire time you will be deployed, they will be with you.

"Today, you will all choose what your position will be. Nephrite will teach you hand-to-hand combat—at least one member in each team needs to specialize in this. Zoisite will teach you sword-fighting—one there as well. Jadeite will teach you to spy—one or two here. I will walk around and decide who will be a specialist. I will also decide who will be the leader.

"Your leader must excel at everything."

Something about the sentence made me shiver.

* * *

Rei and I met up with everybody else when we stopped at General Nephrite's area. Minako and Ami had paired up to spar and Makoto was standing with Gurio. I couldn't see Motoki anywhere.

"Where've you been, Kei, Ren?" asked Minako in her gruff "man" voice. It took Rei a minute to respond to the nickname.

"Ren wouldn't wake up," she responded blithely.

The general scolded us for speaking and immediately started the lesson. Rei defeated me easily. I watched as Makoto dodged every one of Gurio's attempted attacks and managed to get in some good hits. Ami and Minako's fight was very interesting to watch. Ami managed to avoid being injured, but she refused to attack. Minako saw no reason to defend herself and took great joy in testing out new moves. I watched as General Nephrite bypassed them to stop and see Makoto. I hoped that he was going to get to know his future "brother-in-law" but no luck.

"If you are so talented at hand-to-hand, why were you unable to protect your sister?" he demanded.

Makoto didn't even flinch. I was amazed by her. Makoto was strong. She didn't take anything like that from people and she could stand up for herself. She swiftly replied, "There were only two of us, and we were trying to stay alive as well. We did our best."

Her would-be fiancé scowled and walked away. I had a feeling that he hadn't made too much of an impression on her. After a few more rounds, General Kunzite stopped by and appointed Makoto our specialist. I could see that Minako was a little incensed about being ignored, but she said nothing.

* * *

We worked with General Zoisite next. Makoto and Minako paired up this time while Ami worked with Rei. I was with Motoki. This time, we'd lost Gurio somewhere.

Minako showed an amazing amount of skill for it. She was quickly named the specialist for our group, which she took great pride in. Makoto admitted that she needed much training here. Both Rei and Ami were proficient in this as well, but Minako showed skill that surprised the other men.

We were all surprised to see that the general treated us as he treated the other trainees. I think Ami was very thankful for that. She seemed very inclined to get to know her fiancé.

I liked sword-fighting much better. The sword was heavy, but it was fairly easy to use and I didn't have to rely solely on strength. I was beginning to enjoy our masquerade.

* * *

General Jadeite's session was rather difficult. I could stand still and be nearly invisible, but as soon as I was to take a step, I would fall with a loud crash. The general glared at me frequently and the other soldiers laughed. It was official, almost as if there had been a hand-out dictating it: I was the worst trainee in the camp. I almost wished that I'd come by myself. I could have excused this to myself as being a girl, but with four others in the camp exceling far past many of the men (which therefore proving that whatever men could do, we could do better) that was a moot point.

Ami and Rei were declared our spies because they were _good_ at it. Their silence was amazing and they were so graceful. I was jealous.

I wondered what in the world I would do for our team. I saw General Kunzite approach me. I assumed that I would be sent home for being so terrible. I lowered my head.

"Tsukino," he said, "you're the leader."

* * *

That night, we all took our meals in our rooms. It was a small bowl of bland-tasting soup and some rice. We ate it quietly.

"Why am I the leader?" I said when I found that I could stomach no more than the half the soup and few grains of rice despite the hunger pains I was having. A few pairs of eyes flashed up, but none of them answered. Makoto finished her soup and placed the bowl down. Rei added hers on top as well as Ami's.

"Why am I the leader?" I repeated. I needed an answer. This was driving me insane. I should not have been the leader. I should not have even been here. I didn't have the skills for it. Tears pricked my eyes. I didn't have the skills for being a good wife either. What could I do?

Finally, after a third time of asking, Minako finished her food and, scooting past the three who refused to look at me, said, "While we went through the basic training, we thought that General Kunzite had taken the prince's words into consideration because he chose our specialists carefully and fairly, right?"

I nodded and saw that the other three were listening intently.

"He hasn't," said Minako. "He put you in charge because you are the . . . oh, I'm sorry, but it's true—_worst_ of us. He wants us to fail."

"Why? What does that do?" I asked.

Minako put her hands on my shoulders and said firmly, "Work hard, Usagi."

**I am so bad at describing battle and training. I hope this can suffice. I know it's early to get to this part, but I'm moving fast because this is short.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I limped into the prince's tent, trying not to step on my sprained ankle very much. Prince Endymion looked at me sternly. That was the fourth time in the past week that he'd spoken to me about trying harder. I kneeled on the grass, my leg tilted outward so I didn't sit on it. The prince looked me over to see if I'd gained any muscle or at least looked like I could work better. I played with a rip my pants while he looked. It turned into a hole. I shouldn't have done that. He sighed.

"Ren Tsukino," he said sternly. I tried to shrink. Many of the soldiers here were vying for him to know their names. I was vying to fade into the background. Prince Endymion looked me over again. He spotted my ankle. "That's very swollen. Have you gone to the infirmary?"

I told him no. If I had, the man there would have examined the other one to see how bad it was. My ankles were too tiny and delicate to be a man's. I couldn't let that happen. I had to take care of the girls. This was my duty, and I wouldn't fail in this at least.

Prince Endymion sighed. He brushed his hair out of his face—it was getting a little too long and I don't think he had parted it correctly that day. There was a strand that was longer than the rest brushing over the top of his nose. I was tempted to fix it, but I was supposed to be a man and that would have been strange—and reached for it. Knowing that I couldn't refuse the Prince of Earth and Elysium, I let him lift it up despite the pain from the movement. He wrapped his hand around, trying to touch his fingers together which he would have been able to do had it not been so swollen. I felt his callouses brush my skin. I warned myself not to shiver and prayed that he wouldn't notice. Before I could stop it, a tiny whimper shot out of my throat. I felt tears on my face. That _hurt_! Another squeak squeezed past my lips. The prince looked up as if he had been dazed.

"How do you walk on that?" he asked. Prince Endymion moved his hands to his side and straightened regally.

Looking at the ground, I said, "I move one foot then the other."

He frowned. I was surprised by my comment as well. I shrunk down even farther, leading to his sighing and holding his head in his hand. "I did not ask you here to listen to those kind of remarks. Can you tell me why you're here, Ren?"

"Because I've been failing to learn the skills necessary to be a team leader," I quoted snidely although I'm sure it didn't show in my tone.

"Correct. You need to show the skill you did before you were chosen as leader," said the prince.

I huffed softly and mumbled, "I _am_."

"What did you say?"

"I _am_!" I snapped, straightening from my slouch. I was fed up with being talked to like this. I was working as hard as I could and putting forth all my effort, and prince or not, he had no right.

"Why would Kunzite appoint you then?" Prince Endymion wondered exasperatedly. "I trust my generals."

"He has it out for my team!" I cried.

He didn't respond to my statement. "If this pattern continues, I will have to dismiss you from the camp and the army. We need warriors, not little boys. Do you understand me, Ren?"

"I don't mind," I said.

"If I dismiss you," continued the prince, "then I must dismiss your whole team. When a soldier is dismissed, he has shamed his family. If I dismiss you, you will shame your friends and their families." I started to retort by mentioning that his generals would be tied to those families. Prince Endymion countered before I could get a word out. "They will withdraw the proposals, and thus, those four young ladies will be shamed even farther. Do you want to do this, Ren?"

"No . . . ," I muttered, "but can't someone else be leader?"

"You may leave."

"Answer me!" I demanded.

The blue eyes focused on me coldly. "You're dismissed."

I huffed and stormed out.

* * *

When I returned to the tent, only Ami was inside. She was curled up in her blankets, trying to hide, and if I was correct, she had taken her bindings off. Her eyes were focused on a brown spot in the grass. She didn't seem to notice that I entered so I walked over to sit by her. My ankle was relieved from the weight and I wanted to sigh. Prince Endymion was right about one thing—my ankle was terribly swollen. It honestly was close to being beyond repair if I kept doing all the training, but I refused to give up. I would show them all. I could be the best soldier in the camp. I waited for Ami to speak up, but she didn't seem inclined to. I decided to wait. I didn't feel like speaking yet anyway, but I did want to be the first to hear what was happening with her.

"General Zoisite spoke to me today," she started. I nodded. "After he finished training the sword specialists, he came over to my section and found me. He said that he forgave me because not forgiving is a sin especially among family. He also wanted to know about 'Ami'.

"I told him that 'Ami' was quiet. He asked if 'she' was nice." Ami stopped speaking. She glanced to me. "I like him, Usagi."

I blinked and eyed her, unsure what to say. "Isn't that a good thing then?"

"It should be."

"Then why isn't it?"

Ami sighed and gripped her hands together.

* * *

When I wake up, I typically feel light trying to force itself through my eyelids. This was no exception. I pulled the thin white-when-washed-but-currently-brown-or-beige blanket closer to my body despite the heat and tried to block it out a little longer. I couldn't block out a distant voice, however. As I came to consciousness, I realized that the voice wasn't distant at all. It was in my tent.

Thinking it was Rei or Minako or Makoto or Ami, I mumbled for them to leave not even thinking to disguise my voice. I see no point in hiding who was actually there from you—it was Motoki—but that drew his attention. My voice was not even close to a man's. He kneeled down beside me and took a look at my face.

These descriptions of what he saw are only from what he told me, so it is most likely not entirely correct. He said that he first noticed my eyelashes and how long they were. Then he noticed my lips. Finally he noticed two things that I would prefer not to mention by name as the idea of him even paying attention to that makes me feel uncomfortable.

What I actually heard for myself was, "You're a girl. Ren is a girl!"

I snapped up. "Motoki!"

Motoki was trying to run out of the tent. I don't know if he was going to tell someone or if he just wanted to get away from me, but I untangled myself from the sheet, not even trying to bother to wrap up my chest, and grasped his leg.

"Motoki," I repeated, "Furuhata, stop! Listen to me."

He took a seat warily while I dragged him back to the tebnt. I don't think his mind was working very clearly or else he wouldn't have been so compliant.

"My name is Usagi," I explained. "My father would die if he was in my place. You cannot tell anyone."

Motoki shook his head. "How . . . ? Oh, Elysium, you're _all_ girls!"

"You cannot tell," I said.

"How are old are you?" he asked.

I answered, "Seventeen."

He smiled with relief. "You look younger. I thought you were my sister's age. . . . But . . . how . . . why? Oh, Helios, guardian of the Golden Crystal, priest of Elysium, please don't tell me that those . . . Itsuki and they aren't whom I think they are?"

"I won't lie," I said.

"But . . . ," he protested.

I silenced him. "I will explain more later with permission from them to reveal more. For now, promise that you will not reveal us and tell me your reasons for coming."

Motoki seemed surprised by my formal tone, but ignored that and promised. "Prince Endymion sent me to tell you that he is letting you rest today because of your ankle . . . . Now I can see why you've been so bad at all of this. But your friends have exceled . . . . Elysium, I've been beat by girls. Multiple times."

"Don't sound so surprised," I said, trying to channel Rei. Clearly Motoki had already gotten a feel for "Keitaro's" wit for he smiled.

"I need to return to training," he said as he stood and walked away. Once he presumed he was far enough from me, he groaned, "_Elysium_!"

* * *

I mentioned earlier that I typically wake up after the sun has risen. On this particular day, there was absolutely no light at all. I moved my arm and felt some really soft against it. Groggily, I moved my hand to feel it. As I rubbed the fur, I realized it was a spine and I moved my hand to the head to feel two long ears. I blinked even though I could hardly see.

"What's a rabbit doing in here?" I muttered.

"It's your twin, Usagi!" whispered Minako cheerfully from behind. I screamed and jumped up. The rabbit took off running, clearly frightened by the two of us. Minako looked at me disapprovingly. "Well, goodness, Usagi, why don't you just scare the poor thing to death? Honestly, I shouldn't even have bothered. I'll just let you keep failing at all of this."

None of her other words reached me. With a deadpan look that Rei would have been inclined to compliment me on, the words that escaped my mouth were, "You put the rabbit there?"

"Of course! I had to wake you up!" she giggled as if I were being silly. She grabbed my hand and started to drag me out of the tent. I noticed that she was already prepared for the day, including her bindings. I jerked my hand back and took out my stuff. Minako leaned so she could see.

She said, "You know, I totally forgot that you needed to do that."

I wondered about her for a minute, but brushed it off. As for as I could tell, Minako was a very strange girl and there was nothing more to be said about it. She told me to take out my sword and meet her a couple of miles away at a nearby river. I asked why wouldn't meet at the one we used to wash, but she said she didn't want anyone to discover us.

When I finally arrived, what Minako wanted me to do was clear: Minako would be training me.

"No!" I whined. "Mi—asashi, I'm tired. I'm going to fail either way so why can't I just get some extra sleep?"

She sighed and unsheathed her sword. Without warning, she thrust it toward me. I feel a burning underneath the thumbnail of my left hand. She had cut me. Minako cut me! I looked at the blood. It wasn't a deep cut at all, but it would leave a scar. I watched as the blood slid down my skin, leaving a sticky red stain, and fell to the grass. It mixed with the dew, but the sun was rising and it would dry soon.

"Defend yourself," chided Minako. I looked at her. Minako wasn't smiling like I'd always seen her. Her face was serious and blank. It reminded me of . . . . Now that I thought about it, Minako looked like she was trying to imitate General Kunzite. I told her that in hopes to make her laugh, but it affected her none; if anything, her expression cooled. Not icy, but like steel. Some metal, at least. I realized that I had been paying zero attention and my eyes snapped back to my "tutor". Minako rolled her eyes and ordered me to spar with her and do good.

So I did. After a few matches and many suggestions on attacks and form, I managed to beat her. She hopped off the grass quickly but grinned.

"Well, that was quick!" she said. "But remember—you did alright at this before. Let's work on hand-to-hand now."

Minako kept shouting out tips every chance she saw me do something she should criticize.

"Anticipate the attack!" she'd say. "Don't let me hit you. Try to use my attacks against me. You don't have enough muscle to make a good attack of your own."

I slipped and grabbed her arm with my hand. When we were both on the ground, I released her. She shook her arm.

Minako said, "Wow. Your nails are sharp." She blinked and shook her head, taking one of my hands. "Usagi—I mean, Ren, these look like girl's nails!"

I took it back slowly and remarked, "They are girl's nails," glancing at the long smooth surface of my right thumb. The other had broken off during training and I was fairly sure that half of my toenails had disappeared a long time ago; plus the callouses were killing me.

"But they aren't supposed to be." Minako sighed deeply. "Ren, you must take this more seriously. If we're caught, we will be killed. There are no ifs, buts, or ands about it."

I looked down. I didn't like being scolded, especially from Minako. And hadn't I just told myself that I would take care of everyone? That I wouldn't let us be discovered? I had gotten them into this; it was my job to do this, and I shouldn't be relying on Minako to speak for me. I looked up and caught her eye.

Minako gave me a weary smile. "Alright, get up. Let's work on spying."

I did as she said, but my ankle (which I had all but forgotten about) gave out. I fell to the ground wincing, but the pain subsided after a moment.

Back to her normal self, Minako giggled. "Or not."

* * *

"Where were you two?" whispered Makoto. She coughed when she realized that she couldn't use her "man" voice whispering. Minako waved her off and we got into formation.

We did the same activities as always, but for once, I wasn't the farthest behind. If anything, I was closer to the front. Everyone took notice. Even when we ran a few miles, I managed to bypass Gurio and run with Motoki, who was average at best.

As exhausted as I was at the end of the day, plopping down onto my makeshift bed, I smiled.

* * *

For the first time in my entire stay, when I met with the prince, he smiled at me very briefly. I could hardly stop myself from smiling back. The prince always looked so solemn, but something changed when he smiled. He seemed kind of goofy and happy (because not everyone is when he smiles).

"What changed?" he asked.

I didn't answer.

Prince Endymion exhaled loudly. He was annoyed by my refusal to reply. He wouldn't be smiling again, I thought. "What changed?"

"Masashi decided that I needed extra practice," I muttered.

"Tsukino, look at someone when they speak to you!" he demanded. I looked up startled. I rarely looked people in the eye; I rarely looked anywhere but the ground or else I had what felt like anxiety attacks. But just like the previous day with Minako, I was fine. Looking him in the eye didn't bother me at all. I didn't even notice that Prince Endymion had been scrutinizing me. "When we gave out notices, was . . . —do you have a sister?"

"Yes," I answered. "Her name is Usagi. She's seventeen."

The prince nodded. It sufficed. "Did she retrieve the notice then?"

"Yes. Our father was ill. I was taking care of him," I said as I tried to grasp the little details of the story I had put together in my head that day.

"She said that she would retrieve the notice for him. She gave no mention of you," said the prince with a hint of disapproval—no, suspicion—in his voice.

I tried to force an exasperated sigh that a little brother would have made. I would have liked to have one. My cousin Shingo would have been perfect for the job. He already loved to annoy me. I blinked. I was being too quiet again! It was much too easy to get lost in thought. "Usagi likes to think that I'm still a child."

"I see," he said. "You're dismissed. But I expect that you will keep up with the other trainees from now on."

"Yes, sir," I answered. My voice didn't squeak. I didn't hurry away. Instead, I rose calmly, not making a single noise and stepped out of the tent.

I felt perfectly content.

**I hope Motoki's reaction seemed realistic enough for you. I tried to make his shock clear, but I'm not sure how well I did. It's rushed because they didn't have much time, but he will appear again later for another conversation.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Of all of the things that had changed when Motoki knew, it had have been the way he treated us like we were dolls.

"Usagi, I told you to stay off your ankle," he said, taking a seat in the tent with us. The girls sighed and moved to hide their own injuries. After a couple of inspections from him, we tried to not let him even get a hint that we were injured. I, however, couldn't get away from it; Motoki insisted on checking on me every day because the prince excused me once from training.

"Call me Ren, alright, Motoki?" I said. "And I'm fine. There are plenty of soldiers doing this. Don't worry about me."

Motoki didn't say what he wanted to. He learned the first time that we were a group of girls who thought of ourselves as equals. He just gave my ankle a once over and sighed. Motoki may not have understood everything about us, but he really did care. We were grateful that he hadn't revealed our secret yet. We had to stay on his good side.

"I . . . I just worry about you," he replied. I smiled. Motoki had told us how close he was with his sister. He was transferring his worry for her to us because he could actually get involved here. Rei sighed. She was the only one who was really angry with me for unintentionally revealing us.

Minako smiled and said, "We're fine. Good night, Motoki. We're going to move out soon, so we want to get some sleep."

* * *

After a mile or so of walking, I rubbed my feet. I was aware of the stares I was getting—I had made progress, but I was still perceived as the girly boy—but they hurt too much for me to care. Also my lungs were burning. I could hardly breathe from the quick pace and how much I was expected to carry. I was unused to walking this much even after the trek to the camp. Once I realized that I was straggling behind, I ran to catch up and ended behind a group of men I didn't know. They were all older than me and definitely saw me as "girly boy". I tried to pass them and pretend it didn't bug me, but they could walk faster. I was also too tired to use my best speed. I hoped that one of the girls would come and save me, but I had to face it: I was so far in the back that they couldn't see me. I had to face this on my own, as Minako wanted me to.

When I was just about to speak up for myself, one of the men broke away and grabbed my arm. "Come here, kid," he said. He dragged me to the side of the path. The man's hair was brown. In fact, it was noticeably lighter than mine and I had never met anyone from our district with hair lighter than me.

"We'll get behind," I protested.

He shrugged. "They're stopping."

Sure enough they were.

"So, girl, what are you doing in the army?" he asked. My heart froze and then pushed blood so quickly that I could hear it in my ears. I tried to push any shocked expression that would give me away off my face and replace without a confused and certainly awkward one, but the man was laughing so much that I realized any protesting would just entertain him more.

I said, "Who are you?"

"Haruka Tenoh," he answered swiftly. "Now, what's your real name, 'Ren'? . . . Relax, I'm not going to give you away. You had enough courage to come here despite all of the risks. There's no reason you should get caught now. Although that does explain why you were so terrible at training. You're really a tiny thing, even for a girl."

"How did you know?" I asked in a lower voice.

"Why do you think?" asked Haruka in a voice that was most definitely female. "My parents wanted a son very much. _No_ _one_ but them knows."

I nodded and proceeded to tell Haruka everything. Before she could ask any questions, the army started to move again. I ran forward. I didn't want to be near those men again.

* * *

The trip to the training camp was a long one, but the trip to the war was worse. We were carrying our rations of food for the next week and then some. Those who had come with a horse were leading them and the carts. The armor weighed down on me. I sighed. Who had designed this? Armor should protect you, not be a burden. Ami looked as tired as me. Rei and Makoto were trying their best not to show their exhaustion, but Minako seemed fine. I glanced at the prince. He was walking around in ease. He clearly wore this frequently and saw it as no bother. He looked nice in it. Realizing whom I had been thinking about, I flushed.

"Are you alright, Ren? You look like you're getting heatstroke," said Asanuma, another soldier. He suddenly smiled. "Or are you thinking about a special lady?"

I shook my head fiercely.

"I am," he said. "Her name is Kotono."

The whole group began to share the names of their fiancées.

Motoki's was named Reika Nishimura. They had known each other for years. He was obviously infatuated with her which resulted in some teasing. Haruka was engaged to a famous violinist at the palace named Michiru Kaioh. I decided then to talk to Haruka a little more. I had heard Michiru play once when I was younger and I wanted to hear her again. I also was curious about how that engagement worked and if Michiru even knew. Gurio was betrothed to Naru.

"Naru Osaka?" I asked. I was curious about her and how she'd been. I also had to wonder about Gurio's position considering how high hers was. But these were questions that would have to wait for later. I could ask Naru when I returned anyway. Still, I couldn't help but be curious. I thought maybe I should ask him when I realized he was speaking.

He answered, "Yes."

"She's my sister's best friend," I explained/lied. "Usagi Tsukino. Those two rarely go anywhere without each other."

Gurio smiled slightly. "Naru's already mentioned her multiple times."

Then, we started being questioned. Ami and I were tiny enough to pass off as too young to be engaged, but the other three were stumped on how to lie.

"I'm a bachelor," said Rei determinately.

Minako and Makoto were trying to find _something_ to say when a loud crash drew our attention. I had never seen one of the Dark Kingdom's monsters before, but the girls brought their hands to their swords. Endymion and his generals were already in the midst of a fight. I sloppily brought out my own, but my hands were shaking. I was too scared to be of any use. I looked back to see that the monster was ignoring any of the other soldiers and running straight to the girls and me. My eyes widened as I understood: For whatever reason, we were the targets.

"Why are they leaving us?" screamed Ami as she swung around, eyes closed tight. I was glad I wasn't the only who was scared.

Minako took a glance. "We're a team," she muttered bitterly. "We're supposed to do this on our own."

"But all alone?" I asked. I lowered my sword. I could see Motoki trying to run towards us, but everyone was holding him back. Haruka half-smiled at me. She trusted that we could survive this, and in her mind, it was survival of the fittest. Shrieks and coughs took my attention from my thoughts. Ami, Rei, and Makoto were being carried away. I looked over to Minako, but instead found a bloodied girl with golden hair. The monster reached for me instead, deciding that she was too bloodied to be of any value. I would not let Beryl win. I let the crystal shine and burn it. It released me at once, but it would not relinquish its hold on the others. I watched as they too changed and tried to smile, but I felt a cut in my stomach. I collapsed on the ground next to Venus.

* * *

When I awoke, I could feel my hair weighing my head down. After weeks of it hardly being there, it felt like an enormous weight, but it subsided after a moment. Millennia of this hair had trained my head well. I ran my fingers through. I had missed my hair whether I knew it or not. The brown strands in my hair made me furrow my eyebrows. I looked over. Minako was smiling at me.

"Good morning!" she cried in the cheerful voice that I now saw was slightly satirical. "I changed us back. We need this forms. Now, Serenity, if you don't mind, we need to get started on how to save everyone else."

"But . . . ," I began, "what . . . ? Haruka! She's Uranus! Oh, and Hotaru! I can't believe I never saw; Naru and I saw her every day at the market!"

"I saw Pluto and Neptune at the palace the few times I've been. Setsuna Meioh and Michiru Kaioh," admitted Minako. "But now isn't the time for that, Serenity."

"Mamoru!" I continued.

Minako put her hand on my shoulder. "I _know_, Serenity."

But she didn't. _Mamoru_. Mamoru had been the sweetest man alive. He would often find reasons to visit me even though it was forbidden. Endymion was cold and he wanted nothing to do with me. I mean, I _was_ disguised a man, but . . . . I felt like crying. This was too much for me to handle. The memories were fine, but I had missed so much and Endymion had changed. My best friends were in danger and I had no way of knowing what was about to happen. I felt completely useless. I heard Minako sigh. She reached out and hugged me while I bawled. I was completely terrified. The reality of war was too much. I slowly let the sobs subside and brushed the tears off of my face. I could do this, no matter what I thought.

I was born into this life as Usagi Tsukino, but I'm Princess Serenity too.

"Why don't we rest a while?" suggested Venus softly. I nodded. I still didn't feel up to traveling. I watched as she removed some of the ribbons from her chest—"I think that we need the support if we'll be in action," she explained—and cut eyeholes in two. She passed one to me. She then used the rest to tie up our clothes so they weren't too big. Then she threw the rest around her neck in something that resembled her old sailor suit. She made me remove some of mine too so I looked just like her.

As she continued her alterations, I sat up and stared for a moment. "Why is our hair long again?"

"Well . . . ," she said, "I can't do the same level of magic as your mother. I could only change the color. Now put on your mask and let's go. We're going to the Dark Kingdom base and then we will go back to the Moon."

I shook my head. "I want to see Ma— Endymion."

Minako shook her head. I sighed. I knew I couldn't disobey her. No matter what form she took, she would always be Sailor Venus and Sailor Venus was not someone that you argued with.

"Get up," she ordered. I stood. She said, "We're leaving now."

* * *

Before we managed to reach the Dark Kingdom base, we came across Endymion's camp. To our surprise, Ami and the others were not captured. They had been saved by the generals. Venus and I were relieved that they had managed to revert to their "Earth" forms, but we worried a bit. Ami's hair was still short because Mercury had always worn it like that. Thankfully, everyone around the camp seemed to be making excuses for us. Now our trouble was getting inside and taking them out. That would be a real struggle. What were we supposed to say if we were caught? Minako would be revealed and they'd know that she was never captured. She would be supposed as a spy for the Dark Kingdom. And what of me? I could only assume that it would be worse.

Finally, after staring blankly with Minako for a while, I knew. "Motoki." I paused. "Or Haruka. Perhaps we should ask both."

To my surprise, Venus grinned brightly. I had to smile back; "Minako" wasn't completely an act. "Of course! We can also tell Haruka everything. She can get the others together. Alright, now, we just have to find one of them . . . . Oh, this is so much fun! I haven't actually been on a mission in forever, and I _need_ to use my powers. This is almost a heat-up!"

I tried not to laugh and politely corrected her on the saying. She stuck her tongue out at me.

So with that we waited until Motoki ventured out in the middle of night to get a drink from the river to approach him.

"Hello!" I cried. I jumped out without a thought, causing him to fall to the ground in surprise. "Oh. Er, sorry. Motoki, it's Usagi and Minako. Um, we certainly have a story for you. Unless the other girls have already told you. Then we have _half_ a story to tell you. But stand up; we've got to tell this fast! This is an emergency! So did they tell you or not?"

Minako groaned. "It's not an emergency, but Usa, you're not letting him speak!"

"I'm not?" I asked.

Motoki threw his arms around us. "I thought you had died! Ami said she had no idea what could have happened to you, but when they were taken they saw you bleeding."

"So they did tell you?" choked out my soldier. Minako had to make sure. I was glad she asked. One of them might have hit had I been the one to. Motoki let go.

Motoki shook his head. "Well, no," he admitted. "When they were . . . rescued . . . General Kunzite demanded to know Miss Aino's location, but that's all they could say without giving themselves away. So, you are presumed dead."

Venus sighed. "That's lovely. Alright, sit down—what? Well, it's a fairly shocking story and I'm going to tell it quickly. Usagi isn't really Usagi. Well, she is, but we aren't from Earth. Alright, we are. We were born, but we reincarnated. Oh, scratch that! I'm being confusing. Usagi is Serenity and I'm Sailor Venus. Ami is Mercury, Rei Mars, and Makoto Jupiter. We also need to see Haruka. She's—yes, _she_. Don't even say it—Uranus and we need her to get everyone else. Now, do you understand?"

"No," answered Motoki simply. He took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose you, Miss Tsukino—I mean, your Majesty, are the princess of secrets. Don't worry. I'll help you. Now exactly what do you want me to do?"

"I'm not exactly sure," I confessed. "But for now get Haruka. We _need_ to speak to her."

"No need." I looked up and smiled. I had missed Uranus. Hugging her about the legs, I kept her from sitting until she pushed me off.

"It certainly took you long enough to remember, Princess," she said. "Don't worry. Tomorrow I'll leave for the palace. We'll meet you back on the Moon. But I'm afraid I have no clue where Saturn is."

"Juuban," I replied. "It's a small village in the southwest. Her name is Hotaru Tomoe. I grew up there," I added when questioned by her about how I knew.

"Alright, Motoki. All we need you to do then is help us get Rei and the others," said V.

Motoki kneeled. "It's my honor to serve you, your Majesty."

"Stop. You don't need to do that; you're like my brother so you may call me Serenity or Usagi, and besides, you are from Earth. You need to be loyal to Mamo—Endymion. . . . Also, princesses are your Royal Highness, not your Majesty. That's my mother. Well, Queen Serenity, that is," I said. His eyes flew up to meet mine.

He wondered incredulously, "It's true then. Your Ro—oh, alright, Serenity, do you not wish me to tell the prince about you?"

"_No_!" I shrieked. I had been caught so off guard that I was loud enough for Minako to cover my mouth with her hand and pull me into a bush. She released me when she was sure no one would be coming to look. We rolled out from under, looking worse for wear, I'm sure. I felt leaves in my hair. I told Venus that and she called me a baby. Haruka rolled her eyes.

"Just . . . tell them we'll be coming if you can," I explained. He nodded.

"We've got to get back," said Uranus. "Stay safe, Princess."

Once they left, Minako said, "Let's bathe. Your hair is a mess."

I considered commenting on hers, but like all Venusians, leaves don't make her look any less pretty, and Venus actually feels the need to rub it in, good-naturedly of course. So we climbed in the water and got good and clean like a girl for the first time in what seemed to be forever. Minako even spared a few ribbons from our "sailor" thing to put my hair up like I used to.

Somehow, I knew Minako was trying to prepare me for something. As soon as we had dried off and were back on the grass, she looked at me. "You need to know what happened after you died."

I nodded.

"Kunzite killed me," she stated. "As a matter of fact, they killed all of us. I will not go into any more depth, but you need to know this. I will try and get along with him for your sake, but we will not marry despite your wishes for that quintuplet wedding. This is why they chose to go the matchmaker instead of waiting for us like Endymion is waiting for you."

"Why does everyone think I should marry Endymion?" I hissed. "My world doesn't revolve around him . . . . Well, it does, but that's not the point. Venus, I hardly know him anymore. He's spent . . . I don't even know how old he is! He's spent years without me and it's changed him. And I didn't know that Earth was still so anti-feminist. Maybe Mother was right. They are barbarians!"

Venus pulled behind a bush. From her frozen glare I knew I had been much too loud. I could have revealed us.

". . . sight for sore eyes," I heard Mercury mutter.

Jupiter said, "Come on out, Serenity."

"Don't! _He_"—Mars switched words reluctantly—"Jadeite's coming. Come to our tent in an hour. We're just now getting them to leave."

Hearing their voices, I smiled.

**While this is based on Mulan, you can see that now it's quite a bit a different. I still have a bit more planned. It's not ending yet.**

**I love writing for Minako/Venus. It's fun to try to make her goofy like in the anime, but serious like in the manga. I actually had another scene for this chapter, but I'm trying to keep the chapters around an equal length. I also don't think I'd be able to end this chapter if I didn't.**

**I apologize for the long wait, but we had to take our computer to the shop. I've been telling my mom to do that for months and she finally goes on a Friday. And they aren't open on weekends. So I just got it back.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After waiting long hours in the bushes and brambles to the point where my feet were swollen ("They hurt!") and her temper was pushed to its limits ("Too bad!"), Venus and I dashed to the tent, hidden by our dark hair. They had already packed up and were ready to leave. I didn't blame them. We needed to speak to each other and to Mother. This situation was taxing. Minako did make me put on the mask again. She refused to give us any chance of being revealed. I agreed. I was ready to be home again. I missed my room and I wanted to see Luna and Artemis.

"Finally," said Rei as we tiptoed in. All three rose softly in attempt to cushion any sound that might awaken a soldier.

Makoto whispered, "I'm about to kill him. Let's leave."

Venus nodded and motioned them forward. They clasped hands and invited me to the middle of the circle. Just before they began the chant, the tent door swung open. Ami jumped back and screamed in surprise which turned out to be a good thing. It deflected suspicion off of the three of them. I could be a villain for now, especially in a mask, but my friends would hate themselves if they put their families in danger. Unluckily for us, General Kunzite drew his sword quickly and held it to Minako's neck. His body stiffened and he glared at her. His fingers tightened around the handle as he prepared to strike. Venus held her hands up in what I thought was surrender. Then she ducked down and took his sword. I had to smile. No matter what anyone said, she was truly a great strategist. But Kunzite did not surrender. He stood to his full height and looked down on her. If I had been in Venus's position, I would have cowered but she made her expression steely and stared right back. Then, she took her sword and put the tip on his wrist. She rubbed over it not hard enough to pierce the skin, but it still made his eyes widen.

"Who are you?" demanded the general. Whatever Minako had done had infuriated him. Actually, he seemed kind of lugubrious.

"I am Sailor V!" she announced proudly, using one hand to give a "V" symbol. She glanced to me, waiting for me to say something. I blinked.

"Oh!" I replied with a start. My lips pursed, I glanced at the occupants of the room. Then, slowly, pointing to my hair, I said, "Um . . . I'm Sailor . . . Dumpling?"

Rei futilely tried to hide her snickers in her hands. Sailor V rolled her eyes and ignored all of that little scene. Pushing Kunzite across the large tent with all of her might (as a trained soldier, particularly a Sailor Soldier, she had quite a lot, but the general had gone into shock once he heard the word "Sailor". I suppose Minako must have been telling the truth about their deaths), she took Makoto and Rei by the wrists and started to "drag" them to the door. I followed her lead with Ami who was doing a much better job of keeping a poker face.

Once we made it outside, Mercury hopped up and ran. I heard the yells of the generals and saw that Endymion had also come out. We tried to catch up with the others, but my ankle gave out and fell to the side. I shrieked. Ami turned to me and kneeled down quickly. She went to check it but glanced behind us. We didn't have the time for any of this. We needed to leave.

"Can you walk?" she asked. I shook my head and sniffled. Ami sighed and picked me up. She stumbled along to the river. Minako had made everyone wait for us. They clasped their hands and pulled me into the circle. Shouting "Sailor Teleport!" we left Earth.

* * *

Sitting at her throne as if she were expecting us was my first mother. I ran toward her.

"Mother!"

The Sailor Soldiers reverted to their original forms in a flash. I did the same.

Queen Serenity sighed. "Oh, my darling . . . . I never know what you will do next. That was quite a show you put on though. I would have never guessed that _you_ would disguise yourself and go to fight in the war. I do hope you understand why I don't associate with Earth now, dear. They would never take us seriously simply because we are a matriarchy.

"There is something you want," she said after a moment. "I will permit you to visit your families once more. You may invite them to be citizens of us."

"I will not accept, your Majesty," said Venus as she stepped out. She bowed curtly and rejoined everyone in line. I wondered why. The Ainos had always seemed to be such a nice family. Mars refused as well (but from what I had heard of her father, it made sense), but Mercury and Jupiter both wanted to bring Mrs. Mizuno here. Mother was very embarrassed once she remembered that Makoto had been orphaned and thus Jupiter had no parents from Earth.

"Do you want to go, my darling?" asked Queen Mother—a name I chose for her now that I had two. I nodded vibrantly. She smiled back at me. I knew she didn't want to lose her composure, but Queen Mother was very happy to see me. I was happy too. She must have been alone for a long time. I couldn't remember how much time had passed since the first . . . attack.

Queen Mother tilted her head and gave me a pointed look as she added, "I would suggest you hurry. You don't want any chance of Endymion catching up to you, do you? I suggest you stop at the Mizuno house first."

I wanted to say yes. Instead I shook my head vigorously. My guardians walked up to me so we could teleport, their heels clinking against the marble floor. I stared down at the tiles for a second as Mercury and Jupiter took my hands. The power pulsed through the ring, our star seeds all burning brightly inside of us.

It's hard to describe the way teleporting feels. Venus says that there is a moment you're neither here nor there, but I have never felt that. Mercury says it makes your skin burn and Mars says it feels like frostbite. Jupiter hears all of this and says it's all true. But whatever feeling was crawling along our bones, we were standing in front of Mrs. Mizuno's house. Particularly excited, Mercury's and Jupiter's eyes lit up. Minako chided them and reminded that we all needed to look normal. Ami replied that she was perfectly capable of remembering that. We started to walk to the entrance hesitantly. Our feet crunched over the fall leaves. I picked up a pretty bright red one. Queen Mother thought I was over this planet, but some things were still too beautiful.

We avoided the front door and rounded the corner. "I don't want to the servants to send a message to the palace," she said with a slightly calculating tilt to her brows as she glanced up to our friends. "My mother should be in this room. She usually stays here."

So for the last time, Ami Mizuno opened the door to her house.

The room was wooden with neatly lined up floors. It was a library, I realized from the shelves of books all along the walls. It was only lit by a few candles on a table. Mrs. Mizuno was sitting on the floor next to it. I couldn't tell what she was reading but I could see the resemblance between her and Ami. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. She hadn't noticed us.

I turned my head to check on Ami. She took a deep breath, her chest heaving up.

She called, "Mother?"

Mrs. Mizuno's head snapped up. All of us were silent. Her eyes grew wide with tears and she grabbed her daughter. Makoto stood awkwardly beside them, but when the woman noticed her, she was drawn into the hug too. She eventually released them and bombarded us with questions and chastisements.

"Mother, I'm afraid we don't have any time for that. I suspect General Zoisite will arrive here soon. He will be looking for me and he will insist on looking through the entire house. Once he leaves, I want you to pack up everything you want to take and we'll leave. I'm afraid I can't tell you much more yet, but—oh! He may mention that you have a son named Chikao. Just lie, please. I will tell you everything as soon as I can," she told her.

Mrs. Mizuno walked over and shut the scarlet door so no servants peeked in. "Ami, dear, what's wrong? Who are your friends?"

Mercury sighed. "This is Minako, Rei, and Usagi. We're going to hide in the cellar for now. Come get us when this over with."

She turned and motioned for us to follow. Minako and Rei did. Mrs. Mizuno turned her head.

"Makoto, tell me what's going on."

"I'm afraid I can't," said Makoto, mimicking Ami's words with a airy tone. Said girl threw a glare to her.

Ami started to lead me away then paused. "Usagi, they've never met you . . . other than a few words." She muttered under her breath, "'Sailor Dumpling.'

"Stay here and act as a servant. If the general comes close to finding us . . . I don't know. Drop something and distract him."

"She can do that," remarked Rei calmly, her arms crossed over her chest. Makoto rolled her eyes and hurried out, her feet clomping down the stairs.

"Mrs. Mizuno," I began, "your daughter isn't really in trouble. I can't tell you—"

The knock on the front door came then. I imagine you know who was there. I looked at the woman as if I expected her to answer it. Woman in her position don't answer their own doors. They aren't like my family.

"M'lady, there is a General Zoisite here to see you," said a young girl. The general didn't wait for Mrs. Mizuno to respond and burst in.

"Is Ami here?" he asked flatly, his eyes green eyes focused on her for but a second before he glanced around the entire room. Mrs. Mizuno shook her head slowly, hypnotized by the color. She had probably never seen colored eyes in her life. Zoisite huffed and pushed a fallen stand of hair back in his ponytail. He added, "I will be looking around to be sure. If you see Ami, you must contact us. Something very grave has come up."

He exited the room swiftly and ordered the girl to show him Ami's room. She turned to the staircase next to her and showed him the way.

"You have not seen 'Ami'," I reminded my friend's mother, "and it is not as grave as he is portraying it to be. We will explain everything. I promise. But you must come with us. I do not believe we will ever be able to return."

Mrs. Mizuno just gave a blank face as she processed that.

I stepped out into the hallway so I could monitor what the general was doing. I suppose I must have been standing in the way because when servants passed me, they threw me a look. I didn't care. I really needed to watch this.

"I've never seen you before," a middle-aged woman remarked.

I cheerily replied, "M'lady just hired me. I am . . . Nanami Fei."

The woman just rolled her eyes. She said, "Come with me to the kitchen. We have a general as a guest and we don't want you in the way. He is to wed the young lady Ami and you will not ruin it for any of us. We'll be promoted to palace servants! . . . Although I can't see why m'lady would hire you right now. We've toiled away for years and you young thing come in here . . . ."

I smiled anyway and acted the airhead. Taking a tray of tea, she sent me to serve it. Zoisite was outside so I brought the tea with me. I saw a small hidden door that must have been the cellar. He was walking towards it and if he took another step, he'd find them. Mrs. Mizuno was trying to distract him without being obvious. I tripped and let the tea spill over the ground. I gasped loudly to get their attention. The general sighed as if he had expected this and helped me pick up. If I had remembered one thing from my time at the camp, it was that while this man seemed to do everything begrudgingly, he was very kind and forgiving. It was why Ami had liked him so much. The next thought tugged my lips downward. Ami's mixed feelings had been because he killed her in a past life.

"I suppose . . . Ami is not here. I will leave now. Mrs. Mizuno, I will contact you if we receive any information."

Ami's mother hustled me back into the library where we waited until we were sure he had gone. Then we fetched my four soldiers.

"He's gone, right?" Mercury whispered to me. I nodded. She turned to the woman. "We're going to get Usagi's family now. We'll need you to hold hands with us. We'll have to explain this later too. Try not to scream too much."

Mrs. Mizuno did scream quite a bit, but the first time one teleports is always the most difficult. I pictured the grass right in front of my parents' little house. Magic filled us again and we were there.

"_Go_, princess," said Mars in a quick, annoyed voice. Jupiter was filling Venus in on what had happened and Mercury was holding her mother steady. I stuck out my tongue at Rei and knocked.

When the door tentatively opened to reveal my Earth Mother, I threw myself into her arms.

"U . . . Usagi?" she said. When she was sure that it was me, she stepped back inside, pulling me in with her. "Kenji! Come here!"

"Sh!" I said. "Mother, we need to leave. I can't stay."

Ikuko had never been stumped for words before. I suppose she must have thought that it was a strange feeling.

Father ran down the staircase. I cut him off before he could speak.

"Father, Mother, we need to leave _now_. I do not have time to tell you why and I do not have time to tell you where we're going."

My father didn't look pleased at being ordered around by his child. He asked, "Don't we have a choice?"

Minako answered, "Yes, but then you'll never see your daughter again."

Apparently Venus had decided that I'd done enough work for the day. She ordered everyone into the circle in a precise pattern that she explained would ensure that the flow of magic would be enough to take us all the way. "You don't want to be stranded in space," she said. Before I knew it, we were back in Queen Mother's throne room, staring up at Sailors Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

"Rise," ordered Queen Mother. "Parents of these girls, follow me. I will do the explanations as I can see the constant teleporting has worn the five out. Outers, take the princess to her room so she may change. Inners, rest here and inform any passing advisors of my whereabouts."

My closest friends fell to the floor in exhaustion.

* * *

In my room, which had been kept very clean in my absence, I picked out my favorite dress—or at least recreation of it considering that I had stabbed myself while I was in it. It was long and white with golden circles—like Mamoru's Golden Kingdom.

I frowned. I needed to stop thinking about that.

"How long have you known?" I asked the Sailor Soldiers in my room.

"When Haru—Uranus and I met, we remembered, your Royal Highness," said Neptune—was her Earth name Michiru?—politely.

Pluto replied, "You know I never forget."

Little Hotaru Tomoe responded in her sweet little voice, "I didn't until Father Uranus came to get me."

Uranus, who had long since become accustomed to Saturn's familial names for the three soldiers, smiled and hugged her adoptive daughter. The royalty of Saturn always perished as soon as the child was born, a strange commodity really.

"Well, it's nice to be home in the Argent Chiliad," I added and plopped down on my bed. It was so soft. Being a princess was really great in some ways.

"It's called the Silver Millennium now," said Neptune. "Her Majesty changed it to reflect the times. Both words are more commonly used."

I nodded. I hadn't known that. I decided to take a nap. I was exhausted.

**There's still quite a bit more to go! Don't worry!**

**I did notice that a few of you were confused by Usagi's gaining her memories. It wasn't supposed to be a smooth flow. It was supposed to indicate that she doesn't have time to process that she's not from Earth; she has to fight for her life. I do appreciate the criticism. It always helps me better my writing so don't be afraid to say something.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When I awoke, I saw that Uranus and the others had gone. I rose from bed. Last time I had seen the moon from Earth, it was a waning crescent. That meant by now there were only twelve hours of daylight left and I wanted to preserve what I had. I turned from my room and descended the spiral staircase to the throne room. My guardians had also fallen asleep. I looked at all of them.

Mercury looked quite a bit different from Ami. Her skin was paler, but she had little freckles across her cheeks and nose and only there. Her hair had been very dark as Ami, but not it was a bright blue that sometimes looked teal after she was in the sun. Teal like Earth's oceans as far as I could remember. I had never seen one in this life, but Mamoru tried to show me many. But I digress. Mercury's eyes were about the same color and they were always calculating. If she caught your gaze, you knew that she knew everything going through your mind. You couldn't hide anything from her and you didn't even want to. Mercury was too sweet to be of any harm. It was what made her the perfect guardian. She took her duty seriously and any moral convictions she normally had didn't bother her at all when working.

Venus's hair was a strange shade of blonde. In some ways it looked orange, but in others, it was completely blonde. The two colors really became hard to tell apart with the red bow she always wore. It was a strange change from Minako's dark, dark locks. On the other hand, Venus's eyes were a light blue that was close to gray. They were mischievous like Minako. I remember Venus as being solemn and serious. She never cried and never thought about love like you would think she would. Being Minako, Venus had changed. She was still solemn and serious, but she was also funny and silly. I wondered if she thought about love, but it didn't matter. Venus would tell me about soul mates and how hers betrayed her. She took betrayals very seriously.

Asleep, Mars looked exactly like Rei. They both had long black hair. But I remember that Mars's eyes were brilliant shade of purple. Mars liked to call it orchid, I believe. Or maybe it was lily. It was a flower Jadeite told her about. Jadeite had always paid a lot of attention to Mars's eyes. I didn't blame him. They were the most striking part about her and they were always changing with her mood. I frowned. Jadeite had killed her, right? I couldn't imagine him doing that. It didn't seem like Jadeite. Jadeite had been one of my favorite generals of Mamoru's. He helped our relationship rather than trying to hinder it. I looked back at Mars. Her legs were pulled to her chest. Now that I thought about it, there was something about her that looked different than Rei, even if I didn't know what.

Jupiter's hair was curlier than Makoto's if that was possible. The dark brown of Makoto's was now reddish and bright. Her eyes were green, like her sailor suit. They told you how luculent she was. Makoto's extreme strength made sense when you thought about her being Jupiter. A lot of things made sense about Makoto now. She sleepily brushed her bangs from her eyelids. I bit my lip. My friends really looked the same other than hair and eye color. I wondered if I did. I hadn't looked in the mirror since I had come home. I didn't know what I looked like. I remember that I had blonde hair and blue eyes like Venus. I had to wonder though. I lifted a pigtail. Without realizing it, I moved my foot and the floor squeaked. I froze and moved behind a pillar.

My guardians were rising.

I exhaled. I hadn't awoken them. Someone was entering the throne room.

"Ah—Lady Venus!" squeaked a servant.

"Sailor Venus or Princess Philyra," she corrected.

"Er, yes . . . ," the servant agreed awkwardly. "Er, may I present Prince Endymion of Earth and Elysium and his four . . . er, Heavenly Kings, my ladies?"

"We request an audience with Serenity," demanded Mamoru's voice. I tried not to sigh too loudly, lest I want anyone to notice where I was. Mamoru's voice would be Endymion. I don't believe that any of them heard the servant's outburst or Venus's reply. They didn't know that the Sailor Soldiers had returned.

"Both mother and daughter are occupied at the moment. You may enter and wait for the queen to return," said Venus.

I heard footsteps. I suppose they must have entered then.

"Sailor Venus!" he exclaimed loudly.

Venus said, "Yes, Prince Endymion—I suppose you _are_ Mamoru, then?—I am Sailor Venus. Must I pretend we have never met and introduce my colleagues or are you prepared to take responsibility for your actions that ended the line of the Argent Chiliad?"

Mars scoffed. "'Colleagues'?"

Mercury whispered, "Shush. You know that V acts like that when she's nervous."

The room was silent for a moment. I put my hand on a silver wall and leaned to hear better. "Ended the . . . ?" muttered Endymion as if he had wondered what to ask. "You are still here."

"The Argent Chiliad ended fifty years ago, sir," said Mercury. I had forgotten that she addressed an equal as sir or miss, no matter how close. "We are the Silver Millennium now. And even so, you did end the line."

He was silent. "I was told that Serenity committed suicide." His voice was dark and bitter. Empathetic as I am (and I suppose that I might have asked at one point), it was clear that the cool, solemn Endymion that had replaced Mamoru still loved Serenity (or me. I'm Usagi too). In fact, the frostiness might have stemmed from hearing the stories and if he truly did have his memories, it must have been terrible to be told that your love killed herself. It sent a shiver up my spine though. To think that he cared for me so much was exciting.

I took a step to the side. I was happy to see that from where they were standing only Endymion could see. His eyes widened. I smiled and put a finger to my lip.

"Serenity did stab herself," admitted Venus. "But it was not fatal until she removed the blade. I suppose she had decided that living was worthwhile, but she never knew much about anything medicinal. And I must at that it was your blade. On Mars, they consider the owner of a blade to be the one to commit the act no matter who actually does."

"You are from Venus," Kunzite commented dryly.

Pointing at Princess Alala, Venus said, "She's from Mars!"

I held back a laugh. Those last few sentences was definitely more Minako than Venus, despite the words used.

"That would be enough, girls," said Queen Mother. She entered the room with silent grace and took a seat in her throne. "I have returned, so you may return to your duties." Her implication was clear.

"Our duty is to protect the royal line," stated Venus firmly.

Queen Mother sighed. "Hello, Endymion, dear"—she's always been very informal with other royalty—"do you need something?"

I heard shuffling. He had kneeled and no doubt the generals were even more on the ground as they could not be above their prince. The only exception was when both were standing. It would be unfair to make someone hunch all the time.

"We have found that we are unable to defeat the Dark Kingdom. We have come to request help."

Queen Mother shifted slightly. "I cannot afford to spare many soldiers. In fact, I believe that our Sailor Soldiers are in desperate need of training themselves. I suppose I will see what I can do. Endymion, I do hope you'll listen to my suggestion. I am sure Helios would be competent."

He seemed hesitant to agree.

"You can only defeat the Dark Kingdom with magic, boy," Queen Mother said. Her voice was cold. "You did not listen to me before and you are paying for it now. I have offered as much assistance as I can. You must act as an intelligent leader."

"What happened to Serenity?" he asked desperately.

"One day you may ask her."

It was silent. Then they shuffled to their feet and left.

"Your Majesty, don't help them!" cried Venus. "Those from Earth are barbarians! You saw what happened to the princess when she became involved."

Mercury stepped up. "They are not all bad. Perhaps they have misconceptions, but I believe that with help—"

"You don't know—"

"But, Venus—"

Queen Mother muttered something. They silenced. She said, "I have spoken to your parents. I agree with Mercury. They are not all bad. In fact, it seems to me from speaking to them and my monitoring, the district you lived in was the most behind in terms of women's rights. However, Venus, I will not help them more than they need. Endymion is going to be crowned soon and he must learn to rule by himself, and the generals need to expiate themselves before becoming too acquainted with us again."

I shifted. Being in my original form hadn't healed my ankle because suddenly it gave out, leaving me to tumble down the staircase. Everyone left in the room turned to me.

"And just where have you been, young lady?" asked Queen Mother.

I stood up. "I want to fight."

No one said anything. I continued, "I trained on Earth. I have seen the Dark Kingdom and I want them eliminated. Don't even tell me that I am not a Sailor Soldier. You knew that my tutor would eventually tell me. I didn't want to fight in the Argent Chiliad, but I have grown up. It's my duty to finish the war I started. If I must, I will take the Sailor Soldiers, but I _will_ fight."

Queen Mother was silent. She said, "I know.

"You four will join her. I must have some protection. I will keep your parents safe. Serenity, come here."

I stepped up to her throne. Queen Mother smiled down at me but she was clearly worried. She handed me a pink broach.

"Awaken, Sailor Moon," she said. "Say, 'Moon Prism Power,' my dear."

I said it and transformed.

"It's too bad you can't be Sailor Dumpling," said Mars. I gave her a look.

"Go to your rooms, girls," ordered Queen Mother. "Sleep and leave in the morning. You need your rest."

* * *

When I awoke, the sun had set, but a maid had lit a few candles so I could see. The moon grew very cold in the dark. I stood up and grabbed a cloak from my wardrobe.

"Excuse me," I said to a passing servant. "Have you seen Sailor Venus?"

She nodded. "Yes, your Royal Highness. M'lady—I mean, Princess Philyra is in the throne with her Majesty. I was ordered to take you there once you rose."

I agreed and let her lead me down.

Before I could even be announced, Earth Mother had grabbed me in a tight hug. I looked over her shoulder. Anything would could possibly need was already packed.

"I cannot believe that I gave birth to Princess Serenity," she said. Then she began to scold me. "You're still my Usagi, though; don't forget that. Be a good girl and stay safe. Don't fight any more than you have to and don't get too close to the monsters. Also, don't let any of the soldiers get too close to you. I know you have your Sailor Soldiers, but still . . . ."

Father hugged me too. He muttered gruffly, "Is the prince good?"

I stared at him for a moment. Then I understood. "Mamoru was good," I murmured.

What I didn't say sat in the air.

I glanced at Mrs. Mizuno and the two girls she had raised.

"Mako, I know you're strong, but you're still a girl. I don't want to hear that you've been fighting with any of the soldiers. Oh, and take care of Ami," she said. To Mercury: "Be careful. Don't get hurt. And speak up, alright?"

"We need to leave," said Venus. Mercury and Jupiter hesitantly joined them.

Uranus put a hand on my shoulder. "They do not trust women to do this job, Serenity. You must prove them wrong."

Neptune patted my head. "I know you can do it," she said.

"Bye-bye, Usagi Serenity!" cried Saturn.

"It will work out," said Pluto with her cryptic smile.

* * *

"These are the soldiers Queen Serenity sent?" called a man from the crowd.

I hadn't expected to see this many people waiting for us. Most appeared to be injured. They clearly needed our help. I thought about what Queen Mother had told Endymion. "You can only defeat the Dark Kingdom with magic." Yes, they did need us. We had magic and we used it. Denizens of the Moon used magic so frequently that I don't know what they would do without it.

"They're . . . girls."

Jupiter shot him a glare, but I had to admit that we didn't look like much, especially in our uniforms. But the point of the uniforms _was_ to be underestimated. The sailor suits are basically white leotards with a sailor collar and a skirt of each soldier's specific color. We wear a lace skort underneath to keep it riding up. The skirts are really short because it would inhibit running otherwise. We brought armor to go over the white when we need to fight. We also wear knee pads and wrist guards over our gloves which are also lacy and very feminine along with glittery masks. We do look unintimidating. But we're doing our job.

Venus nudged me from behind. I sighed. I needed to introduce us.

"I am Sailor Moon, leader of the Sailor Soldiers," I said. "This is Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter."

Endymion was shocked to see me. The generals seemed very uncomfortable about being near my soldiers. I had a feeling that Jupiter and Mars were glaring and could only hope that Venus would keep them under control—or, as she put it, out of control. I waited patiently for someone to speak.

Again from the crowd—"Those are your names?"

I corrected, "No, titles."

We were asked what our names were.

"I am Serenity," I said. "Mercury is Chione, Venus Philyra, Mars Alala, and Jupiter is Astrape. I am alright with being addressed as Princess Serenity, but other than that, you need to address these questions to the correct person." I turned to the prince. "I assume that these requests are blatant, but I would prefer to state them outright. We will require a tent to ourselves and my soldiers are to stay with me at all times. I may request that we go off on a mission of our own and I would like to take a few of your soldiers for this. I will inform you if this comes up. I expect that no man will be a bother to my friends because they are not citizens of the Moon and that would create trouble between Earth and the other planets of the galaxy. Are we clear?"

"We have a tent set up that I believe will be suitable, your Royal Highness. It is at the end of this row," said Kunzite as he gestured. I saw that it was the one that Ami, Rei, and Makoto had stayed in.

I turned and motioned for the Sailor Soldiers to follow me. We walked away from the crowd with no other thoughts, but the clank of armor behind us made me stop. I sighed when I saw whom it was and sent everyone on their way despite Venus's offers to stay with me. Endymion was following me. He had apparently snapped out of his trance.

Endymion reached for my arm. "Serenity . . . ."

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to be involved with. I was Princess Serenity, but I was no longer the wifty girl of the Argent Chiliad. I needed to concentrate on this first.

"No," he whispered. "Please tell me it's not true. You heard them, right? They said . . . ."

"It's true," I answered quietly. "I had only picked up your sword and I wasn't seriously considering stabbing myself, but my hand slipped. Does that make you feel better?"

"Serenity," he repeated. "What happened to you? Where have you been?"

I shook my head again. "Now is not the time, Endymion. Please listen to Queen Mother. She knows best."

The prince examined my eyes as if he expected to see something in them. "_Queen_ Mother? Why are you calling her that?"

"Not now," I repeated. I entered the tent and remembered the last "chat" I had had with him as Ren. I had looked into his eyes and felt powerful. I _was_ powerful. I was strong and could hold my own in battle. Even as shy Usagi-disguised-as-Ren Tsukino, I was more of a princess than I had ever been before. No lessons from tutors could have helped me learn that lesson. The near social phobia and nightmares of Mamoru's death I'd had as Usagi Tsukino were no more. I couldn't help but think that Saturn was right when she called me "Usagi Serenity". That's who I am now, thanks to my friends.

I leaped onto Venus's back. "Thank you."

**I'll be kind with the Sailor Soldiers' names and not use them too much so I don't confuse you too much. Those names are my own little way of telling you about my project after QoF and this. I don't want to say what it's about because I don't want to let anyone steal it. I'm a bit paranoid and I like this one a lot.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When I woke up at camp, I reached for my bindings out of habit and paused in panic when I realized they weren't there. A quick glance around the room soothed me. The silvery blonde hair sprawled out in the grass reminded me of what had happened. Instead of tying up my breasts like I used to, I tied up my hair. I smiled as it brushed my arms. I really had missed it.

Looking around the tent, I saw that the others' beds had been folded and stacked neatly in a corner, along with piles of clothes and other belongings. I sloppily threw my stuff together and added it in. My stomach growled. I peeked outside and groaned.

"Bright," I muttered. The light was giving me a headache. I stumbled back in and fumbled around for my transformation broach. I didn't find it. I dared open my eyes again and saw that it most definitely wasn't on the ground. I walked to my blankets and shuffled in there. Nothing. I looked back. Had I missed it somehow? Sighing, I shook out all of my belongings. The broach fell to the ground. I picked it up.

"Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!"

Now in uniform, I willed the armor to appear and hurried over to meet my friends for breakfast. I exited the tent. The men were seemingly unaware of me. I pushed through them.

"Watch it, princess!" one called. I turned and stuck my tongue out. It might not have been the best idea as he stepped forward, probably to "teach a lesson". I would have fought him (and I must admit that I might have lost), but I felt a hand on my shoulder. I leaped in surprise. When I turned, I expected to see Endymion watching over me, but Motoki smiled.

"Princess Serenity, may I escort you to the dining hall? I believe your soldiers have found their way there," he said, holding out his arm for me to take.

I grinned as I reached for it. "Sure."

Motoki managed to keep up the act of not knowing me fairly well. He added, "My name is Motoki Furuhata, your Royal Highness."

Motoki and I chatted while he led me. I tried to explain everything that happened, but I couldn't have any of the surrounding men knowing what happened and I especially didn't want news to get back to Endymion. Instead I told him everything I could about the Silver Millennium and how it ran. Considering that most people on Earth scarcely knew of the Moon, he followed pretty well.

"Wait, so Ami—uh, Mercury and the others are _princesses_? Of what?" he exclaimed.

I smiled. "Motoki, if _I'm_ Sailor Moon, Princess of the Moon, and she's Sailor Mercury, what do you think she's princess of?"

Motoki shook his head like he couldn't believe it. "So there's life on _all_ of the planets?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Because there's Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. All of them. Didn't you know that? We've been in contact with Earth since we were the Argent Chiliad. . . . Did you know that Quee—Mother changed the name our kingdom? I can't believe it. It's so hard getting used to it."

"Um," Motoki said.

"Oh! Sorry, I was probably rambli—eeh!" Motoki yanked me back and I nearly fell to the ground. I looked up at him, baffled. "What did you do that for?"

He pointed right in front of me. "You almost stepped on a turtle."

Any irritation dissipated. I turned to the turtle and grinned. It was so adorable! I reached to touch it, but Motoki yanked me back again.

"Serenity, that kind of turtle bites."

"Oh . . . ." I was disappointed. I loved animals, especially ones from Earth. Once, Mamoru took me to see one he thought I would like. He was correct. The koalas were so adorable with their fluffy ears, large noses, and brown eyes. I told Motoki this story rather cheerfully. He smiled as I spoke, but when I finished the story, I saw the he'd led me to the side gradually so I wouldn't notice.

"That's nice, Serenity. I just remembered that you never answered my question." The Earth boy lowered his voice. "_Is_ Prince Endymion Prince Mamoru?"

I froze and bit my lip. Endymion didn't _act_ like my sweet Mamoru, but they were the same person. I gave a tiny nod.

"And you _did_ have an affair before you were, uh . . . killed?"

"I wouldn't call it an affair, exactly. I mean, it wasn't . . . ," I stopped. My friends always told me I blushed easily and I guessed from Motoki's face that I was blushing quite a lot.

"Alright. But, Serenity . . . ," Motoki looked reluctant to continue, but he did, "do you still love him?"

I couldn't answer. My heart beat in my chest so quickly it hurt. _Yes,_ I still loved him. We were soul mates.

"I've seen how the prince acts. He doesn't seem . . . bad, but he's not very emotional. You are. I want you to be happy, so can you tell me that you'll be happy with him?"

I hugged Motoki. I replied, "I don't know. I can't guarantee any of that, no matter how much I love him. I'm not even sure I _will_ marry him. I'll do my best to be happy. And thank you for wanting me to be happy. I always wanted a brother . . . . You'll do."

Motoki laughed and hugged me back even though a lot of the men looked at us. I figured they were wondering if they should tell their prince that his princess was hugging another man. I considered sticking my tongue out, but thought against it after last time. Motoki and I continued walking.

We entered the tent and I saw that the Sailor Soldiers had split up to try and integrate themselves in the camp. I assumed that either Mercury or Venus had determined who would go with whom. Mercury was with the more intellectual soldiers, Jupiter with the strongest, and Mars and Venus spoke to everyone else. I looked around for someone to speak to, but considering the reactions my friends were getting from the men, I decided that it was better I stuck with Motoki. Also, Asanuma and Gurio were most likely sitting with him. I turned to ask him if I may when Endymion approached us. I suppose I should have realized that he would do this consistently; now, I realize that Endymion knew a lot less of what was going on and wanted answers, but then, I was only thinking in the mindset that everyone knows everything I do.

"Serenity, please join us for breakfast . . . and do invite the Sailor Soldiers to do the same," he said, glancing at the four and then looking pointedly at Motoki. I was proud of my brother figure to see that he managed to stay calm and respectful to his prince but watch over me as well. Motoki really is the best brother I could have asked for.

"Um, alright," I agreed. I turned back to the soldier with his black hair and brown eyes and said, "Bye, Motoki."

"Goodbye, your Royal Highness." He bowed and took a seat next to his friends. I turned back to Endymion. He looked at me kind of pointedly and in kind of a kicked puppy way. 'You have time to talk to a nameless soldier but not the man you had an affair and then killed yourself because of'? I tried not to laugh as that sentence crossed my mind. I had phrased that absolutely ridiculously. Still, a smile pulled my lips and Endymion frowned.

I explained, "I was lost. Motoki helped me here."

Endymion wasn't appeased. "Call your soldiers," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Uh, Mi— Venus!"

Panic took over and I looked at Endymion, wondering if he'd heard my slips. His face was contorted in confusion and he looked over at me.

"What were you about to say?"

"Huh?" I played dumb.

Endymion insisted. He crossed his arms and looked down at me. He was at least a foot taller than me, even in these boots. I bit my lip when I realized I was doing it again. How long would it take me to learn that I had to listen when people speak? "Before you said Venus," he elaborated, "you said something else."

I faked an epiphany. "Oh! I said V. Short for Venus."

He seemed to accept that. I looked up at him. He still had the piece of hair parted the wrong way. I placed my left hand on his shoulder and blushed as I grew closer to him. Then I brushed the hair the other way and let my heels fall back to the ground.

"That's been bugging me for a while," I said. Endymion looked a bit awkward but he was smiling at me.

"Do you need something, princess?" Venus asked leisurely. I saw Endymion take a second glance—the Venus he had met was strictly formal and she was acting very casual. None of us gave any sign that it was out of the ordinary though.

I, on the other hand, made sure to keep my voice particularly prim. I had been trying to send Endymion the message that we cannot and will not speak about our relationship, but my brushing his hair out of his face probably reserved all of my work. I said, "Prince Endymion has asked that we join him for breakfast."

Venus paused. "I see. Mer, Mars, J, c'mere."

The other three hurried over and bowed as if awaiting orders.

"We'll be eating now."

The four of them look very unhappy, but I try not to think about it. I'm honestly not very happy either.

Endymion held his arm out towards me. I stared before realizing that he was offering it like Motoki had done.

"I can find my way to the table," I snapped. He looked reproved. I felt guilty. I reached over and hooked arms. Between my glove and his sleeve, we weren't even close to touching, but my heart was still pounding in my chest. It reminded me way too much of my anxiety. I gasped in realization. I must have had terrible anxiety issues. But I'd gotten over them, so I supposed everything had worked out.

Endymion stopped and I didn't. I slipped forward, but he reached down and caught me by the waist. The spots where his fingers touched me tingled. I rose to my feet awkwardly.

"Er . . . thank you," I said. Endymion smiled and pulled out my chair. I realize now that he was trying to impress me after everything that had happened. Venus watched us, her blue eyes lit up by the orange mask. As she too took a seat at the table, Venus decided to remove the mask. She wiped a streak of glitter from her cheek.

"Must we wear these?" she asked, her voice slightly whiny. The men all took a second glance. The Venus they'd known was never whiny and certainly never defied me. But they'd never spoken to Minako (not knowingly, anyway) and at that didn't know Minako was Venus.

I moved my hand to feel my white one. "I like them." I looked at the others for support.

Jupiter gave a sympathetic grin.

"Well . . . ," said Mercury, "they serve no purpose . . . ."

I tried to find some argument, but all four of them removed the masks and set them down on the table.

"Venus!"

She raised her eyebrows at me. She replied with a slight smile, "I don't suppose you're going to claim that there's a reason we need to eat with them on?"

I scowled at her, trying to give my friend the meanest look possible. But I've been told time and time again that my face can simply not be distorted into a glare harsh enough to scare (or even give the idea that I'm angry to) anybody. I said, "Well, _I'm_ not taking mine off."

Venus gave me a simple smile. I looked at the way she was gripping her utensils and the angle at which she had placed her legs and realized that that whole thing had been Venus's attempt to lighten the mood. I let it go and started eating.

"Serenity, your hair—"

I turned my head as Endymion lifted a pigtail and placed over my shoulder onto my back.

"It was falling into your food," he explained.

The men around us watched. I had figured that the men wouldn't take kindly to women doing their job as this was not their culture (despite the need for it to be), but I was surprised to see that many seemed to believe that the sole reason I was there was because I was Endymion's lover (untrue, at that time). I believe I even heard one of them call me a not-so-nice word that begins with w and sounds like it should begin with h.

Jupiter seemingly heard it too. She stood up and glared, but Venus pulled her down.

"You can kick his"—another word I'm uncomfortable repeating—"later, during practice, Jupi," she said. "But not now. You don't have armor on. You might get his blood on your uniform."

Jupiter smiled slightly, but glared at the man still. Mercury and I giggled while Mars rolled her eyes. I thought it was amazing how Venus could keep such a steady tone while saying something like that. I admired Venus a lot.

The rest of the meal was assuredly awkward. My guardians finished quickly, looking for a way to excuse themselves and waiting for me to finish to excuse them. Because of their fast pace, I was the last one eating. I could hardly stomach the food due to Endymion's proximity. He insisted on sitting next to me and was constantly trying to strike up a conversation. It made the dinner unbearable. As much as I loved Endymion (and I don't know how many times I've repeated this), I didn't need the distraction.

"Ren, are you feeling ill?" asked Mercury when she became aware that I had eaten less than a quarter of what was given to me in two hours. All heads at the table snapped to look at her, but Mercury was already aware of what she said. When the inevitable question of "Ren?" came, she swiftly replied, "Yes. Se-_ren_-ity. Ren."

Mercury was the type of person whom could lie easily.

I replied to Mercury, "I . . . might be."

Venus rose from the table briskly. Her chair squeaked; it looked as if it were a few years older than a chair need be, rusted and the seat torn. I wondered what this said for the state of the Golden Kingdom's economy. She politely, but firmly, said, "Please excuse us, Prince Endymion; we would like to discuss some things."

Without waiting for an answer, as is her style, Venus walked away, placing her orange-blonde hair over one shoulder and motioned for us to follow. Jupiter rolled her eyes, but hurried over, pulling Mercury with her. Mars smiled wryly at the three of them and grabbed the masks still lying on the table.

"Are you coming, Serenity?"

I nodded yes and followed along. We met up just outside of the tent.

"Oh, _Cosmos_!" groaned Venus. "How long can a breakfast last?"

Mercury opened her mouth, probably with the story of an extremely long breakfast, but Venus shushed her. She said that we would be taking a walk to a nearby river where we could have privacy.

"Can any of you tell me that you enjoyed being in the same room as them?" she spit out as we continued on our way. No one answer. She said, "Not even you, Serenity, want to be near Mamoru—Endymion—whatever right now. Why did you accept?"

"Well, it wasn't like I could refuse," I shot back. "You always did say I needed to learn to be more conscientious about what I say to foreign dignitaries. And perhaps you need to as well. I understand that the Four Heavenly Kings did _something_, but you can't tell me what and we need to be polite."

Venus shot me a glare. "Serenity, no matter what your hopes may be, this is not—"

"'—going to end in a quintuplet wedding,' I know. Venus, that isn't my wish. Just be polite."

Mars raised an eyebrow. "You two realize that we're still here, right?"

I grinned and hugged Mars about the waist. She pushed me away.

At that point my friends and I reached the river. Instead of discussing things important like war, we told each other of our childhoods. (Ami's father was a painter that had run off to pursue his dreams; Makoto's parents owned an inn that burned down in a fire; Rei's mother died when she was a child and her father expected her to be perfectly behaved; and Minako had seen her parents only a few times in her life, having been raised by cruel servants who presumed that the Ainos' daughter was spoiled.) It was at this river we met every day for the next week, which became a month, which became two.

At two months, Endymion announced that his father had called all of the soldiers to the capitol.

**I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but a lot has happened in my personal life. My friend just got out of an abusive relationship, my great-aunt had a heart attack, my stepdad's aunt died, and my dad broke our computer, thus erasing all of the work on the story I worked on for six months.**

**I **_**am**_** speaking about the story I mentioned a while ago in my author's notes for this one. I'm very disappointed because I loved the story and am unsure if I will rewrite it. Over all, the last few months have been stressful.**


End file.
